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Unique Tenebrescent Zircon (natural magic)

musicloveranthony

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
1,530
Alas, this beautiful piece was left in my hotel room in Miami Beach and was never recovered :( I wanted to share about it, though, as it was a truly special gemstone.

This was a natural, unheated zircon from Nigeria. It was very well cut and was truly special. It had incredible dispersion unlike any zircon I've seen before or since - a couple jewelers even thought it was a pale sphene due to the intense dispersion. More incredibly, though, it displayed a vivid and intense tenebrescence. Tenebrescence is a phenomenon by which a gemstone will change in tone when exposed to sunlight and when allowed to "rest" in absence of sunlight. It's the same phenomenon artificially used for transition lenses in glasses. Ultraviolet light from the sun would cause this particular zircon to shift colors very dramatically in a way I've not seen before (Zircon is my favorite CS). It was incredible how fast the stone would shift. You could watch it happening before your eyes in a matter of seconds. When away from the sun for a few hours, or when exposed to warm temperature and absence of UV light the stone would shift to its resting color which was a very pale brownish color (more of an off-white).

I'm going to attach a photo I took on its final vacation to Miami Beach. The lightest color was the stone "at rest" at my house in Minnesota. The medium tone was when exposed to the Miami sun for about 30 seconds. The darkest tone was when I put it under a UV "sun lamp" for about 30 seconds.

I truly miss this stone and I think about almost every day - even though I've been without it for 2+ years.

892CCC96-B709-49CF-8B9C-113B4E941147.jpeg
 

Adam95

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 12, 2019
Messages
175
Lovely gem! I always recommend a good insurance policy that covers accidents. I learned my mistake after losing a ring in a bus crash.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,019
I'm so so sorry :( what a lovely stone
 

MissyBeaucoup

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
1,124
Maybe Brad at The Gem Trader could help you. He specializes in unusual stones. He has a lot of things that aren’t listed on the website. That was indeed a special stone!
 

Adam95

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 12, 2019
Messages
175
It's such an awful feeling! I am planning to get my important pieces appraised and insured soon. Thanks for reminding :)

Jewelers Mutual is really good for insurance. I use them. I had a neighbor lose 70k of heirloom jewelry that had been in his family for generations and his homeowner's barely covered a fraction.
 

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,754
I'm sad for the one you lost, but I also so hope you find another. It really is a grail type stone. Just the coolest.
 

lambskin

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
3,053
I lost an emerald and diamond ring purchased in 1977. A Colombian 1 carat emerald with a pair of 10 pt. Diamonds. Lost it in 1987 and miss it everyday.
 

MidModMin

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 7, 2017
Messages
138
I'm so sorry you lost it – what a unique, beautiful gem. Thank you for sharing the photos.
 

prs

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Messages
1,883
About two years ago DW wanted to wear her emerald bracelet but couldn't find it. We searched everywhere but no luck. She was pretty sure the last time she wore it was six months ago on a trip to the Coast. We figured it had somehow been left it in the hotel room.

Three weeks ago, both of us being fully vaccinated, we made our first get away trip in over a year. DW has a travel bag she uses for her jewelry on trips. It fits in her purse when we leave the hotel room. This being a short trip DW wasn't taking much jewelry and she remembered she had a smaller travel bag stored in a box under the bed. Out came the travel bag, and to her great delight, inside the bag was her emerald bracelet. Found after being lost for two years! =)2 =)2 =)2

@musicloveranthony so maybe there's still a sliver of hope for your beautiful zircon.
 

musicloveranthony

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
1,530
About two years ago DW wanted to wear her emerald bracelet but couldn't find it. We searched everywhere but no luck. She was pretty sure the last time she wore it was six months ago on a trip to the Coast. We figured it had somehow been left it in the hotel room.

Three weeks ago, both of us being fully vaccinated, we made our first get away trip in over a year. DW has a travel bag she uses for her jewelry on trips. It fits in her purse when we leave the hotel room. This being a short trip DW wasn't taking much jewelry and she remembered she had a smaller travel bag stored in a box under the bed. Out came the travel bag, and to her great delight, inside the bag was her emerald bracelet. Found after being lost for two years! =)2 =)2 =)2

@musicloveranthony so maybe there's still a sliver of hope for your beautiful zircon.

That's awesome!!
 

Lisa Loves Shiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
4,685
Gorgeous stone. I can see why you still think about it. So far I have had the dog eat a 3 carat color shift Chrysoberyl. I left the ring on my bedside table and he got it. A gorgeous pear shaped 1/2 carat Alexandrite (light blue/green to purple), and a 4 carat red spinel. I try not to think about them too often. :)
 

CaseyLouLou

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
1,257
Gorgeous stone. I can see why you still think about it. So far I have had the dog eat a 3 carat color shift Chrysoberyl. I left the ring on my bedside table and he got it. A gorgeous pear shaped 1/2 carat Alexandrite (light blue/green to purple), and a 4 carat red spinel. I try not to think about them too often. :)

Your dog eats your jewelry?! Bad dog!
 

CaseyLouLou

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
1,257
Alas, this beautiful piece was left in my hotel room in Miami Beach and was never recovered :( I wanted to share about it, though, as it was a truly special gemstone.

This was a natural, unheated zircon from Nigeria. It was very well cut and was truly special. It had incredible dispersion unlike any zircon I've seen before or since - a couple jewelers even thought it was a pale sphene due to the intense dispersion. More incredibly, though, it displayed a vivid and intense tenebrescence. Tenebrescence is a phenomenon by which a gemstone will change in tone when exposed to sunlight and when allowed to "rest" in absence of sunlight. It's the same phenomenon artificially used for transition lenses in glasses. Ultraviolet light from the sun would cause this particular zircon to shift colors very dramatically in a way I've not seen before (Zircon is my favorite CS). It was incredible how fast the stone would shift. You could watch it happening before your eyes in a matter of seconds. When away from the sun for a few hours, or when exposed to warm temperature and absence of UV light the stone would shift to its resting color which was a very pale brownish color (more of an off-white).

I'm going to attach a photo I took on its final vacation to Miami Beach. The lightest color was the stone "at rest" at my house in Minnesota. The medium tone was when exposed to the Miami sun for about 30 seconds. The darkest tone was when I put it under a UV "sun lamp" for about 30 seconds.

I truly miss this stone and I think about almost every day - even though I've been without it for 2+ years.

892CCC96-B709-49CF-8B9C-113B4E941147.jpeg

This is really interesting. I have a pale champagne pink zircon being set right now. It appears to turn darker purple in bright light. I don’t think it’s the same phenomenon but it’s a very strange and confusing stone. I’m very curious to see what it looks like set and to wear it in different lighting. In the photos it’s the one in the middle.

I chose a very flashy setting too… 5C7BC1B0-EFC5-45BE-95E7-CF5F31CD8F6E.png 23DFB38E-4832-4986-BFD2-F116E1CD4BE0.png 3BB862C5-F9C8-44A2-AE8A-2626F64DD55D.png 7AF3B7FA-B3ED-4296-8DA2-48DC9FD103C6.jpeg
 
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musicloveranthony

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
1,530
This is really interesting. I have a pale champagne pink zircon being set right now. It appears to turn darker purple in bright light. I don’t think it’s the same phenomenon but it’s a very strange and confusing stone. I’m very curious to see what it looks like set and to wear it in different lighting. In the photos it’s the one in the middle.

I chose a very flashy setting too…

what a beautiful color!! Look forward to seeing what you do with it! :)
 
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