I just happened to stumble upon...

[brandy_z28]

Hauyne!

I had about 45 minutes left to browse the Intergem show before they shut down for the night and after scouring the booths and being mostly unimpressed I went back to the one that had quite a few rare gems. They had some very nice, clean, and larger faceted rhodocrosite along with a baggie full of small faceted bixbite, cuprite, benitoite, wulfenite, and so many others. I was going back just to oogle since those were all more than likely out of my price range. Well, I started looking at a few stones, some of them I had never even heard of and ended up striking up a conversation with the man behind the counter. I mention wanting to see Hauyne, he thinks he has some so he goes and pulls out a black box that he says is his wife''s stash and there they are! He had 5 of them, all very small, but I couldn''t leave without one, ok make that 2. They''re teeny, 2.9mm and 3.0 mm and combined they weigh 0.19 cts.

It was dark when I got home so I''ll try to capture the blue tomorrow with the help of the sun.

I also picked up a cheapo golden beryl pear at 5x7mm that looks more minty than golden to me and an even cheaper opal that had decent play of color and an interesting pattern to it.

 

[brandy_z28]

 

[brandy_z28]

flash was an oops but it turned out nice anyway

eta: wow, sorry! pic was not supposed to be that big!

 

[PumpkinPie]

those blues are gorgeous!

 

[Arkteia]

Hayunes are wonderful stones, and, I presume, pretty expensive. At least in Germany. Good catch!

 

[ma re]

Ah those blues...they should advertise them as "what every sapphire wants to be" or something like that

Seriously, when starting out a look for sapphires, this is the color most people have in mind (untill they realise they''d have to sell everything they possess for such a sapphire...). The other two are interesting as well, not exactly a market''s standard for ideal in their own species, but certainly unique and intriguing for a gem lover.

 

[RockHugger]

SOOOOO PRETTY! Now you have me wanting one! Gotta love that blue!!

 

[stepcutgirl]

Wow, that is a perfect blue! I''ve never heard of that stone! Might be pretty to halo them for earrings?

 

[brandy_z28]

Thank you Maevie, crasru, ma re, RH, and stepcutgirl!

Ma re, I totally agree. Not sure why the opal and beryl spoke to me but they both were begging me to take them home, so I did.

It''s very windy today so taking pictures outside was a little nerve-wracking with the hauyne but I still got a few.

More pics!

 

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full sun

 

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full sun again

 

[brandy_z28]

golden beryl that I find more minty than golden...

 

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[brandy_z28]

now for the $5 opal...yep $5 and I love it!

 

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last one for now

 

[brandy_z28]

Date: 3/21/2010 1:38:43 AM
Author: crasru
Hayunes are wonderful stones, and, I presume, pretty expensive. At least in Germany. Good catch!

I think I got a very good deal on the hauyne!

$45 per stone! I have no idea what they normally go for but I felt like it was a steal so that''s why I got two. I now wish I''d have gotten all 5 of them! They were all around the same size. I just looked at them all through a loupe and chose the brightest cleanest two he had. The wife finished the sale and seemed to be quite upset that her husband had even sold the hauyne and says that if he made any more deals like I''d just gotten that they''d go out of business. She swore I got them for less than what they paid for them in Germany but I really don''t know.

I believe the husband said that there was supposed to be another find of hauyne somewhere. I was also told that hauyne are not actually mined. They can only be picked up from the ground''s surface and are found in volcanic rock. I''ll have to do some investigating on google.

Thanks again crasru!

 

[RockHugger]

They are now found in afghanistan now, but those are more green, not the beautiful blue. Like most gems...newer finds are usually not as spectacular as the originals.

 

[RockHugger]

If you dont mind me asking, what was the vendors name who sold you those? I spent many hrs sifting through gems at my intergem show at one vendors stand...wondering if was the same one?

ETA: I LOVE that opal! I normally dont like opals, but I LOVE how unique that one is!!!

 

[brandy_z28]

Date: 3/21/2010 5:07:40 PM
Author: RockHugger
If you dont mind me asking, what was the vendors name who sold you those? I spent many hrs sifting through gems at my intergem show at one vendors stand...wondering if was the same one?

ETA: I LOVE that opal! I normally dont like opals, but I LOVE how unique that one is!!!

I purchased the Hauyne from Vance Gems. The opal and beryl came from two other vendors and I do not recall their names at the moment.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Hauyne is a favourite of mine, as well. Unfortunately, the stones are tiny and get very, very expensive with size (I saw a 2ct hauyne for 8000 euros!), althought the tiny stones can be affordable. It is also soft.

I got mine from Brad.

 

[brandy_z28]

Date: 3/22/2010 12:56:04 PM
Author: Lady_Disdain
Hauyne is a favourite of mine, as well. Unfortunately, the stones are tiny and get very, very expensive with size (I saw a 2ct hauyne for 8000 euros!), althought the tiny stones can be affordable. It is also soft.

I got mine from Brad.

Hey Lady_D, thanks! The man from Vance Gems was telling me he''d seen a 2.2-2.7(ish)ct Hauyne as well and the price was the same as the one you mentioned above. I want to say he saw it in Germany. Where did you get to see one that big, if you don''t mind me asking? There can''t be many of them.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Kox has the best hauyne inventory online, as far as I know. While I haven''t dealt with them (yet!) personally, I have been tol they are reputable and honest.

This is their 2ct hauyne - can you imagine the price if it was cleaner?