16ct. Rhodochrosite! video

[ephsea]

http://vimeo.com/104227931
Picked from an old collection by Jeff Hapeman and cut by Stephen Kotlowski.

 

[T L]

Amazing, they're such beautiful gems, but very rare and soft.

 

[chrono]

Simply beautiful. Can you imagine how much more expensive they would be if they are more durable?

 

[Marlow]

Thank you - what a beautyfull gem - The only soft gem ( below 5 ) I will collect!!

Chrono, you are so right - would be a top gem material!!

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I could replay that video until the sun goes down.

Wow! Words just don't do it justice.

 

[dk168]

Gorgeous gemstone, thanks for sharing!

DK

 

[GliderPoss]

Mesmorising!

 

[Alnitak]

It is an amazing stone, isn't it? I just got it back from Stephen and its an honor to own it, even if only for a short while. While I cut gems, there was no way I was going to let anyone else have this but Stephen. True gem-quality rhodochrosite is exceedingly rare. While its soft, its the rarity more than anything that keeps it from being used as a gemstone. Massive rhodochrosite is much more common, but gem-qualty material has only been found in a few locations and nearly all of them are now closed and/or played out. Without a doubt the finest material came from the Sweet Home Mine in Alma, Colorado. While most of it was sold as specimens, the damaged material was faceted into gemstones. Of that, very little was completely clean, and even less was clean and relatively large.

As for value, its pretty typical for the most rare stones to never reach the price points of more common (yet still rare) gems. Its a matter of supply and demand. Too rare and there's never enough supply to create the interest and demand that would support a market at higher prices. But that's OK; I like rare gems enough on their own and the price doesn't matter as much to me.

I'm entering this particular gem in the AGTA (American Gem Trade Association) Spectrum Awards; it's truly worthy given the amazing work Stephen did and the beauty and rarity of the gem. Hopefully a museum will acquire it for public display. It was not easy locating a piece of rough like this, and I personally believe the gem should be shared with the public and not locked away somewhere.

Regards,

Jeff

 

[Starzin]

Breath-taking! Thank you for sharing.

 

[JewelFreak]

Such a gorgeous gem variety & this stone is simply Wow. Always regret that it's so soft, but when you find a piece as nice as this -- even a smaller equally good one -- it's a joy to admire in itself; who needs to set it?

 

[Marlow]

Jeff,

a world class gem and yes, a museum ( Or Mr. Scott? ) would be the best place!!!

The color is fantastic, no brown -

 

[LoversKites]

Oh man, that is something. Good luck to it in the AGTA competition.

 

[LoversKites]

Simply beautiful. Can you imagine how much more expensive they would be if they are more durable?

Same could be said for sphalerite.

 

[T L]

Simply beautiful. Can you imagine how much more expensive they would be if they are more durable?

Same could be said for sphalerite.

I have a sphalerite and apatite, both trillions, in the same gem box. Both stones are so beautiful and would make for a gorgeous bypass ring, but I can't set them.

I guess some people set apatite, but the windex blue color looks so perfect with the orangy yellow of the sphalerite.

If sphalerite were durable, it would be worth a fortune.

 

[Alnitak]

What you can do with those relatively soft stones is set them in a pendant where they are relatively safe from any damage. They just need to be set *very* carefully. Of course, you can also just enjoy them in a gem collection. That's what I do with some of my odd ones, and many of the people that buy my odd or soft gems are collectors as well.

Jeff

 

[T L]

What you can do with those relatively soft stones is set them in a pendant where they are relatively safe from any damage. They just need to be set *very* carefully. Of course, you can also just enjoy them in a gem collection. That's what I do with some of my odd ones, and many of the people that buy my odd or soft gems are collectors as well.

Jeff

I've only seen sphalerite precariously set. After a while, even the prongs will scratch the material.

I mean, I think it's 3.5 on Mohs, so that's just not appropriate at all. Even wiping it clean could scratch it due to the silica that collects in the dust and debris all around us.

 

[Alnitak]

What you can do with those relatively soft stones is set them in a pendant where they are relatively safe from any damage. They just need to be set *very* carefully. Of course, you can also just enjoy them in a gem collection. That's what I do with some of my odd ones, and many of the people that buy my odd or soft gems are collectors as well.

Jeff

I've only seen sphalerite precariously set. After a while, even the prongs will scratch the material.

I mean, I think it's 3.5 on Mohs, so that's just not appropriate at all. Even wiping it clean could scratch it due to the silica that collects in the dust and debris all around us.

Yes, I would agree. I've seen the softer stones set in bezel settings using an epoxy, rather than the pressure of the metal to hold them in. I'd think prongs would be very likely to cause damage. You're also right about cleaning--even a cloth that's not clean can cause damage.

Like I said, I personally prefer that these stones just be kept as collector items. In the case of many of these, a popular use is as cut stones to pair with exceptional mineral specimens in what the collectors call "rough and cut" displays.

Jeff

 

[T L]

Too bad they can't figure out a way to coat these gems in order to help their durability, like a minor treatment which doesn't affect their color or any other aspect, other than durability. The finest sphalerite blows diamond away as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Alnitak]

I thought I'd post an update on this gem. I offered it to a private collection that I've worked with before. They are an educational collection so that means that this piece will be displayed, and better than just being stuck in one musuem, they put on traveling exhibits. They were so amazed with this stone that they decided to add it to the collection, even though they already had a pair of exceptional rhodochrosites from Colorado. It is truly a world-class gemstone. While I likely could have sold it for much more to a wealthy private collector, I really think something like this needs to be shared with everyone.

They entered it into the AGTA Spectrum/Cutting Edge competition and we'll soon know the results. I'm proud to have been involved in bringing this treasure to light and hope it wins an award--it deserves one! If it does, it will be on display at the annual AGTA meeting/show this February in Tucson. I'll update when I hear more.

Do any folks from PS ever go to the AGTA show in Tucson?

Jeff

 

[deskjockey]

What you can do with those relatively soft stones is set them in a pendant where they are relatively safe from any damage. They just need to be set *very* carefully. Of course, you can also just enjoy them in a gem collection. That's what I do with some of my odd ones, and many of the people that buy my odd or soft gems are collectors as well.

Jeff

I've only seen sphalerite precariously set. After a while, even the prongs will scratch the material.

I mean, I think it's 3.5 on Mohs, so that's just not appropriate at all. Even wiping it clean could scratch it due to the silica that collects in the dust and debris all around us.

Yes, I would agree. I've seen the softer stones set in bezel settings using an epoxy, rather than the pressure of the metal to hold them in.

Is that how this one was done? I've wondered since the first time I saw it:

http://www.realgems.org/edelsteine_liste/pic/big%20sphalerite%2027.jpg

 

[T L]

I thought I'd post an update on this gem. I offered it to a private collection that I've worked with before. They are an educational collection so that means that this piece will be displayed, and better than just being stuck in one musuem, they put on traveling exhibits. They were so amazed with this stone that they decided to add it to the collection, even though they already had a pair of exceptional rhodochrosites from Colorado. It is truly a world-class gemstone. While I likely could have sold it for much more to a wealthy private collector, I really think something like this needs to be shared with everyone.

They entered it into the AGTA Spectrum/Cutting Edge competition and we'll soon know the results. I'm proud to have been involved in bringing this treasure to light and hope it wins an award--it deserves one! If it does, it will be on display at the annual AGTA meeting/show this February in Tucson. I'll update when I hear more.

Do any folks from PS ever go to the AGTA show in Tucson?

Jeff

That was very generous and nice of you to offer it so that everyone can enjoy it, not just a private collector. I often wish more people would do that with some rare and fabulous gems.

Thank you for the update!

 

[MrsCornishWed]

That is utterly drool worthy.

 

[LoversKites]

They entered it into the AGTA Spectrum/Cutting Edge competition and we'll soon know the results. I'm proud to have been involved in bringing this treasure to light and hope it wins an award--it deserves one! If it does, it will be on display at the annual AGTA meeting/show this February in Tucson. I'll update when I hear more.

Good luck!