Australian Black Opal, Tsavorite, Hauyne & Diamond Ring
Gemstone Details
Black Opal
The highly prized Australian opal is one of nature’s true works of art. Recognized as the premiere source, the Lightning Ridge area of New South Wales produces a very finite supply of this phenomenal stone and no two opals are exactly alike. Each masterpiece is a complex palette of colors in blue, green, orange, yellow and/or red. As you move the opal around in the light, flashes of color are revealed in the depths of the gem.
Black opal is the most valuable variety of opal and is distinguished by its black or dark ‘body tone’ which allows for the opal’s brilliant and vivid play-of-color. Of all black opals, those with red tones and patterns in the play-of-color will command the highest premium. Not all opals display play-of-color, and they are referred to as common opal. Opal is formed by silica and water over thousands of years. Spheres of silica stack in a regular order, and this internal structure diffracts light so play-of-color can be seen.
Opal is the birthstone for the month of October and the 14th anniversary gift.
Tsavorite Garnet
Tsavorite garnet is the green variety of the grossular group of garnets, with trace elements of vanadium or chromium providing its color. Tsavorite garnet was discovered by British gem prospector Campbell R. Bridges in the mountains of northeast Tanzania in 1967. The name tsavorite was chosen by Tiffany & Co. in reference to the initial discoveries in the area in and around Tsavo National Park.
Newer to market than most gemstones, tsavorite was not promoted to the general public until 1974. Nonetheless, it has become one of the most expensive varieties of garnet. Large stones over one or two carats are quite rare and the color can be known to rival the greenest emeralds, while being far less sensitive to handling.
Although tsavorite is the name usually associated with the darker green garnets in the grossularite species, there is no universally accepted standard that designates which shade of green qualifies a stone as tsavorite. A great characteristic of tsavorite is its durability, with a hardness of 7.5 on the Mohs scale.
Garnet is the birthstone for January and the gift for the second wedding anniversary.
Hauyne
Hauyne is an extremely rare mineral and even rarer as a faceted gemstone; first discovered in the early 19th century in southern Italy. A member of the sodalite group of minerals, it is commonly found in volcanic areas, such as among the Vesuvian lava flows on Monte Somma. It was named for the “father of crystallography,” Abbé Rene Just Haüy. Hauyne is noted for its electric blue color, although it has been found in other colors, such as white, grey, yellow, green and pink. It is also noted for its perfect cleavage and brittleness, ranked as a 5.5-6 on the Mohs scale, which makes faceting the material difficult and thus rare. It is one of the possible constituent minerals of lapis lazuli. Today the most well-known locality for hauyne is the Eifel Mountains of Germany.
