Gemmes & Gemmologie

Lot 2023. The Official State Gemstone of California. Benitoite, Benitoite Gem Mine, San Benito County, California; weighing approximately 2.08 carats and measuring 8.18 x 6.76 x 4.94mm. Sold for US$ 35,000 (€29,528) inc. premium. Photo: Bonhams. Around the turn of the 19th Century, a prospector discovered a blue material that he believed to be sapphire. Examination by experts determined the new gem material to be an unknown mineral. In addition, it turned out that the new material represented a previously unknown... [Lire la suite]

Lot 2458. Nigerian "Paraiba-type" Tourmaline, weighing approximately 50.6 carats and measuring 26.03 x 19.85 x 15.71mm. Sold for US$ 35,000 (€29,528) inc. premium. Photo: Bonhams. This is a large stone for the species and an exemplary one at that. Faceted as a pear-shape, a cut which beautifully displays the very high clarity of the stone. The color is an attractive blue. Accompanied by a Gemological Institute of America report number 16940742 dated March 28, 2008 stating that the tourmaline contains copper and manganese... [Lire la suite]

Lot 2466. Large and Impressive Rubellite Tourmaline, Nigeria, weighing approximately 85.27 carats and measuring 27.59 x 20.43 x 15.86mm mm. Sold for US$ 37,500 (€31,637) inc. premium. Photo: Bonhams. Faceted as a cut-cornered emerald-cut with scissors-cut crown facets, this is a world class tourmaline by any measure. Notable for its large size, which still allows it to be mounted as a ring or pendant and its exceptional clarity and deep, pinkish red color. This is a stone worthy of attention by the most serious collector.... [Lire la suite]

Selenite, Robert R. Wiener Collection. Photo by Paul Mutino. GREENWICH, CONN.- Visitors to the Bruce Museum can take a global tour of the splendor, wonder, and science of minerals as Treasures of the Earth: Mineral Masterpieces from the Robert R. Wiener Collection opens to the public. Continuing through April 1, 2018, this exhibition offers a rare chance to discover the wondrous beauty and amazing properties of world-class minerals from a remarkable private collection. Approximately 100 dazzling specimens are on... [Lire la suite]

Three prospectors in Australia uncovered this “rock star” treasure in 2010 using a metal detector. DALLAS, TX.- It’s back!! One of the world’s most famous gold nuggets has returned to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. The Ausrox Gold Nugget, a true rock star in the gem and mineral world, was on loan as part of the original collection that debuted in the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall when the Museum opened to the public in December 2012. In 2015, the precious mineral headed south to the... [Lire la suite]

The Eyes of Africa. Composed of several white, semi-translucent quartz crystals and large, green and black Alien Eye Fluorites, Erongo Region, Namibia. DALLAS – Ten years after a spectacular “alien eye” mineral was unearthed by a miner in Namibia, the enormous and intensely beautiful specimen – dubbed Eyes of Africa – will make its debut at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science’s Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall. An unprecedented discovery that has garnered a cult-like following in the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 3040. A Concretion of Aragonite, Mine of Irhoud, Morocco, Safi province. Estimate: HKD 35,000 — 45,000 (4,258 - 5,475 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's with a vertical structure, the concretion of a white colour and irregularly formed with dense clusters of varying sizes, stand - 58 cm, 22 3/4  in. Provenance: A French private collection. Note: Aragonite is a carbonate mineral likened to a bouquet of explosions of fireworks or flowers. It is an... [Lire la suite]

Lot 120. Splendide ammonite Placenticeras Meeki de l'Alberta. Estimation : 12 000 € / 15 000 €. Photo Millon Belgique Splendide ammonite Placenticeras Meeki de l'Alberta.Diamètre imposant pour cette spectaculaire ammonite aux iridescentes couleurs électriques, très bel état pour ce must. Elégamment soclée. Exceptionnelle. D: 42 cm. Chambre des Merveilles chez Millon Belgique, 1040 Bruxelles, le 26 Mars 2017 à 14h30

The Fire of Australia opal, valued at nearly $900,000 Australian dollars and weighing at 998 grams.  ADELAIDE.- The finest uncut opal in existence, the Fire of Australia, has joined the South Australian Museum’s collection through the vision of a private donor and funding from the Federal Government’s National Cultural Heritage Account. Valued at nearly $900,000 Australian dollars and weighing at 998 grams, the Fire of Australia is the world’s finest piece of opal of its kind on public... [Lire la suite]

Conch natural pearl. Photo courtesy Theilkaes