Gem: Chrome Kornerupine
Weight: 0.9 ct.
Dimensions: 8.75 x 4.15 mm
Clarity: VVS+ / Eye clean
Origin: Umba Valley, Tanzania
Treatments: none
Faceted by: Scott Maier
Original gem design by: Scott Maier
Comments:
This is my best, cleanest kornerupine at the moment, and I honestly don't expect to be able to find or make more of this caliber. It's HUGE for a really clean gem of this type. Basically unheard of!
For a gem with a 2:1 size ratio, this gem's performance is amazing!! Most gems that are twice as long as they are wide tend to window a lot, and I wasn't willing to let that happen on a piece of rough SO rare that I couldn't bear to sacrifice length for no good reason. So I made my own design in GEMCAD, specifically for this piece of rough. It was a lot of trial and error.
The result is this scintillating, chameleon of a stone. One which does NOT window, except at extreme angles. However, it also does PERFORM at extreme angles, so all around, it is a great success story.
There are several colors doing work in the stone, but the 'base color' is the classic deep teal color. The supporting colors are pastel purples and light blues and seafoam-y greens that you would hope for in a best-in-the-world chrome kornerupine.
Any collector would be challenged to find fault with this gem, except, perhaps, that it didn't quite clear the 1 ct. mark. In that one regard, I can agree -- that I wish it was more of itself!