March 17, 2015: Chrome Green Tourmaline

This month we feature a spectacular chrome green tourmaline from Tanzania.

Although copper seems to be the most sought-after chromophore in tourmaline these days, chromium is an exotic player that produces some amazing green hues in tourmaline. Chrome tourmalines outshine your average greens with elevated grassy-to-intense-evergreen hues. These exceptional greens can easily be mistaken with the tsavorite garnet varieties, as they are found in similar areas of east Africa and can be identical in color. Our featured stone exhibits all the best qualities of chrome tourmaline: electric green hue, flawless interior, and a highly brilliant cut.

Trillion Green. A 4.36-carat chrome tourmaline, 10.75 x 10.52 x 6.42 mm. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

Interested? Call or email us to inquire. [back to top]

February 17, 2015: Spessartite from Tanzania

This month we feature a pair of exceptional pumpkin-orange spessartites from Tanzania. This impressive pair weighs in at 16.52 carats total weight and are perfectly matched with ideal-cut cushion faceting.

Spessartite garnet from Tanzania, 16.54 tcw, cushion cut, 11.7 x 10.6 x 7.5 mm. Inventory #21636. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

Spessartite (aka spessartine) has seen quite a change in the marketplace. Demand has continued to go up as collectors expand into the more rare varieties of garnet. There are still some spessartites from the long exhausted Nigerian deposit on the market, but inventories are diminishing and prices are rising. The new Tazanian deposit has started to fill in the gap on spessartite supply with a range of sizes and beautiful mandarin and pumpkin colors. The material tends to have some clarity issues but we have seen some cleaner stones popping up recently. We have a large selection from both deposits and even a few from Namibia and San Diego County. For more on this material, see our Spessartite Buying Guide.

Interested? Select inventory number above, call or email us to inquire. [back to top]

January 15, 2015: Cambodian Zircon

This month we feature an exceptional blue zircon from Cambodia. Weighing in at 36.11 carats, this zircon is quite a large specimen, as most blue zircon are found under 5 carats; over 10 carats is quite rare for this type of color. Not only is the size impressive but the color hits the sweet spot for zircon. The swimming-pool blue is reminiscent of a fine paraiba and invites you to dive in. Blues of this size are often too dark or off-color. The strong doubling shows up more in the photo than in hand, but it's a good optical tool to identify zircon.

Wonderful large, clean blue cushion-cut zircon from Cambodia, 36.11 ct, 17.89 x 15.89 x 12.69 mm. Inventory #22357. (Photo: Mia Dixon)

Our new supplier continues to bring in beautiful zircons, and the last lot yielded this rare beauty. We continue to hold good stock in blue zircon with a wide variety of shapes, sizes and matched pairs. Check out our previous post on the blue zircon connection.

Nice Pair! A sample of the great new selection of blue zircons at Pala International. Rounds range from 6.4 to 8 mm, cushions are 9.8 mm. (Photo Mia Dixon)

Interested? Select inventory number above, call (phone numbers below) or email us to inquire. [back to top]

See previous:

• 2012–2014 Featured Stones
• 2009–2011 Featured Stones
• 2005–2008 Featured Stones