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Faceted
Natural
Jeremejevite
From the Latest Find in Spring 2010
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The size, color, and overall clarity
make this stone a high-end collection, if not museum-quality
gem.
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Size/Shape
Cutting
Proportions
Color
Clarity
Origin
Treatment
Weight
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13.1 x 6.3mm Octagon
Fancy 'Scissors' Facet Pattern - No Nicks or Scratches
6.3mm Thickness,
Full Brilliance, Not Windowed
Even Medium Blue
Slightly Included
Ameib Ranch, Erongo
Mountains, Karibib, Namibia
No Treatment, 100% Natural
5.23 Carats
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Jeremejevite was discovered in the late 1800s at
Mt. Soktuj in the Transbaikal
region of Russia. The mineral is named after Russian
mineralogist Pavel V. Jeremejev, who lived from 1830 until 1899.
The chemical formula is Al6[(F, OH)3(BO3)5].
Jeremejevite is durable with no cleavage and a Moh's hardness of around 7.
In the early 1970s, Jeremejevite was
discovered at the
Mile 72 Marker in the
Swakopmund District in central Namibia. There have since
been minor finds in Germany, Tajikistan, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka. As
well, a 2006 discovery in Mogok, Burma, produced colorless and
pale yellow terminated crystals, some of which were facetable.
Blue Jeremejevite is the most sought
after color, and as far as we know, it only occurs in Namibia. A
significant deposit of
blue Jeremejevite was
discovered in 2001 in the
Ameib Ranch area of the Erongo
Mountains, Karibib District, Namibia. Beautiful crystals were found,
some with terminations, but quantities were limited, and large gemmy areas suitable for faceting
were elusive.
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In the Spring of 2010, an old pit
was reportedly re-explored, and a new pocket of Jeremejevite
crystals was found at the Ameib Ranch. Our visit to the
Ameib Ranch in November, 2008, enabled us to gain valuable
contacts with miners and dealers directly involved with
Jeremejevite mining. Here are some photos I took at Ameib Ranch, an exceptionally beautiful area.
Photos from Ameib Ranch, Namibia
As a result of our contacts in the
area, we have acquired some good
rough from this most recent find. As always, the number of
large and/or clean gems will be limited. We will work carefully,
however, to get the best stones we can from this rough, aiming
to impress even the most experienced collectors of fine and
unusual gems.
Additional information on Jeremejevite can be found at
www.mindat.org,
and photos of cut stones, including one we bought in
Burma, can be seen at
www.realgems.org.\ GIA prepared a detailed article on
Jeremejevite in the
Autumn 2001 issue of Gems and Gemology.
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There are some inclusions in this
stone. The stone was cut by a master lapidary with over 20
years experience cutting fine gems.
We have left the stone deep in order to
preserve color saturation and weight. |
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