Extreme labradorite

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I’ve got lots of new labradorite in at the moment; these are oval cabochons. I have 6x4mm, 7x5mm and 8x10mm to go with the 8x6mm and 10x12mm I already have in stock. As with all of my labradorite, I stick to the Madagascan material, which means a light, translucent body-colour with a vibrant flash. I have a variety of colours; blue, aqua, green and gold. This is very nice quality material, but that doesn’t mean it is entirely free of fractures; labradorite (and moonstone for that matter) is a stone composed of many layers and so to find completely clean material is quite difficult. The bigger the stone, the more difficult it becomes. It’s getting a little bit ‘grab it whilst you can’ as I am finding it harder and harder to source this, especially in larger sizes. As I wrote in my previous post, the Inuit claim that labradorite fell from the frozen fire of the aurora borealis, which I think is just the most wonderful, magical piece of lore imaginable! You can find all of my oval labradorite by clicking here. Prices start from $1.30 per stone for a 6x4mm labradorite oval.

Below, the beauty of Madagascan labradorite is complemented beautifully by the cool sheen of sterling silver in Kira Ferrer’s labradorite and sterling silver set of 5 stacking rings.

Kira Ferrer labradorite stacking rings.jpg-1
Kira Ferrer set of 5 labradorite and sterling silver stacking rings, $108

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Labradorite; a little slice of frozen fire

I was going to do a post about these the last time I had new stock in, but by the time I got down to it, they had mostly sold out. Fantastically popular and it’s easy to see why. Desirable Madagascan labradorite, with the pale, translucent body colour and bright – and in some cases blinding – flash. Labradorite is composed of layers, and it’s the way that the light refracts off these layers that produces the flash, or labradorescence. The Inuit used believe that labradorite fell from the frozen fire of the Aurora Borealis, and it’s easy to see why – the stone has an almost other-worldly quality to it. A dull grey stone transformed to the extraordinary as the light refracts and relects off it. I have just listed lots and lots of new stones; you can find them here. Prices start from just $3.70.

Below is Luttrell Studio’s sublime labradorite and sterling silver ring, priced at $85. Perfectly simple and elegant, the cool silver against the labradorite makes the colour just sing.

Luttrell studio labraodorite and sterling silver ring
Luttrell Studio labradorite and sterling silver ring, $85

Ametrine; the panda of the gemstone world

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Ametrine is the trade name for bi-colour amethyst; part amethyst, part citrine – see what they did there! In many ways it’s the panda bear of the gemstone world; it only comes from one mine in Bolivia, and given that citrine is effectively amethyst that has been heated, what you are looking for are amethyst crystals which have been partly heated by processes in the earth and partly not. Then you want to find a nice clean crystal that will co-operate and give you an nice gem with a balance of both colours. In the past, the classic cut was a step-cut rectangle with an ideal proportion of 50/50 amethyst and citrine. These days, however, all kinds of arrangements are common. I’ve seen ones where the cut-off runs diagonally through the stone, and fancy cuts and concave cuts scatter the light and create all kinds of interesting colours and effects. I have for sale just a few of the classic rectangular step cuts, with good proportions and also a few concave cuts. Concave cutting is interesting as it involves cutting conical facets with 3 dimensions, so that each facet has depth as well as length and breadth. This means that more light is refracted and the stone appears more brilliant. In addition, the facets create a fascinating effect. To shop the range, click here.

Below, two perfectly simple, perfectly elegant rings, the settings a perfect foil for the beautiful stones. Left; Stone Fever Jewelry’s ametrine and sterling silver ring at $275 and EVGAD’s concave cut ametrine and sterling silver ring at £89

Stone Fever Jewelry Ametrine and sterling silver ring, $275
EVGAD ametrine and sterling silver ring, $89

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Double-diamond points

Joopy Gems points post

For those of you in the know; it’s double diamond points all this month in my online shop. For those of you who are not, how about opening an account? All you have to do is set up a store account (or log in with your existing one) and points will be automatically awarded as you shop. 500 points earns you a $5 discount; 1000 points a $10 one and so on. This month, there’s a 400 point welcome bonus for setting up an account, 2 points for every $1 spent, and if you refer a friend, they will receive a 10% discount and you will get a massive 1000 points when they place their first order! There are points also for liking and sharing my Facebook page, following and sharing my Twitter page and following me on Instagram (I’m called simply and obviously joopygems). So what are you waiting for?! Dive in to my cornucopia of gems!

Joopy Gems points post

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A billowing blue light

5mm RMST AA RCRD-2
Rainbow moonstone, 5mm rose cut round, AA grade. $11 per stone.

Back in stock I have AA grade 5mm rainbow moonstone. This is one of those products I can’t really get to order; I put in an order that goes ‘well this is how many I’d like, but just give me as many as you can.’ Because it’s becoming increasingly scarce, nice quality rainbow moonstone. This is a bit included, hence the AA but appears generally transparent with a wonderful billowing sheen that flashes from the stones. There’s blue, aqua, green and a few of the more gold tones. This material is from Madagascar and is just the antidote to all that cloudy, fractured sheen-barely-there material, of which there is, of course, no shortage whatsover! These stones are $11 each and you can find there here. To browse my entire range of rainbow moonstone you can click here for AA and AAA grade and click here for AB and A grade.

You can see this material perfectly realised below in Nicki Gluckman from NIXIN’s rainbow moonstone and diamond ring set in 14k gold, $225:

NIXIN rainbow moonstone, diamond and 14k gold ring
NIXIN rainbow moonstone, diamond and 14k gold ring, $225

 

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