Gem: Fluorite-Included Quartz
Weight: 38.3 ct.
Dimensions: 37.4 x 13 x 12 mm
Clrity: VVS / Eye Clean
Origin: Amborompotsy, Ambatofinandrahana District, Amoron'i Mania Region, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar
Treatments: None - totally natural material
Comments:
This fluorite-included quartz gemstone is on another level! the pattern of brilliance and contrast is beautiful, and intense. There is a concentrated burst of brilliance towards the bottom that really backlights, and hilights the fluorite cubes amazingly; as if they're bursting forwards out of a cosmic explosion. They already seem to be floating above the pendant, and the light effect really adds to that.
The larger, blockier facets towards the middle and top provide eye catching bright and dark spots that you can see across a room, even in very low light. Both the top 10% and bottom 10% of the stone have a beautiful brilliance due to the smaller, narrower facets there.
The 'keel' of this gemstone has been cut and left frosted, as a way to protect the back of the gemstone, and keep it from chipping accidentally while being worn. The girdle is also reasonably thick, and left frosted for the same reason.
As a very large, AND drilled gemstone, this was a huge effort for me -- It presented a number of logistical problems I had not encountered yet, and so it was a real puzzle to move through the stages cleanly, making sure my standards could be met.
The hole I drilled had to be parallel with the surface of the table, which is polished, but exists in a place that's EXACTLY where a natural crystal face used to be.
It also had to be exactly perpendicular to the length of the piece, or it would hang or look crooked.
Finally, I had to make sure that the table stayed as shallow as possible, and design the entire pendant around that, so that I didn't risk grinding away the fluorite cubes. The fluorites were so close to the surface that this was a real risk, right up to the end.
Everything came together finally, after writing, and re-writing CAD designs for the gem as I went to help me make sure my vision came out through the process.
I couldn't be happier. This is a real career milestone for me, and I'm thrilled to be able to offer it in my shop. It's my largest gem ever, to boot. It's nearly double the size of the previous largest. Thank you nature!!