Gem: Chrome Kornerupine
Weight: 2.86 ct.
Dimensions: 11.4 x 7.5 mm
Clarity: Included
Origin: Umba Valley, Tanzania
Treatments: None - natural gem
Comments:
Chrome kornerupine is prohibitively expensive for some people, when it's high enough quality to be faceted. Cabochons offer another, more affordable way to buy and enjopy this ultra-rare gem.
This free-form triangular shape has quite a few inclusions, but it also has a lot of really gemmy areas, and a medium-strong presence of purple coloration. The chrome turns the whole body color of the stone to a piercing teal color, and particularly in one particular angle, the purple is the most obvious. The strongest purple color will always be seen along the LENGTH dimension of the crystal structure - also called the C axis.
The rarity of kornerupine makes it really hard to find. There was a good find of it in 2019/20, but it was exhausted within about 6 to 8 months. There was a lot available for a minute, but it is almost all gone now.
With a hardness of 7, kornerupine is sturdy enough for rings, just like tourmaline.