cat eye Zultanite

The GIA (Gemological Institute of America) classifies Zultanite as a Type II transparent gemstone, meaning that it is usually eye-clean (no visible inclusions when the gem is examined approximately 6 inches from the naked eye) with some inclusions visible under 10x magnification. Inclusions are tiny natural features that grow within the crystal during a gem's formation within the earth. Mostly microscopic in nature, inclusions are a fascinating hallmark of authenticity, recording a gem's natural relationship with the earth. They are also extremely useful to gemologists when identifying natural gemstones from synthetics and imitations.Zultanite registers 7 out of 10 on the Mohs' Hardness Scale (a system devised in the 18th century by a Viennese mineralogist Friedrich Mohs to measure the ability of a gem to resist surface scratching), has a refractive index of 1.75 and specific gravity of 3.39. Unless you're a gemologist, these numbers won't mean much to you, but these characteristics make Zultanite an excellent jewelry gemstone. As 100% natural gemstone, Zultanite is one of the few gems that have no known enhancements or treatments.While the newness of Zultanite means that it has had little time to accumulate legends and lore, for those interested in the esoteric properties attributed to gemstones, some people believe Zultanite can assist in the development of psychic power, astral force, ambition, intellect, desire and emotions based on intellect and touch.

Zultanite

While some of Zultanite's key characteristics are its delicate color saturation, durability and scintillation (play of light), the beauty and intrigue of this regal gemstone ultimately lies in its different colors. Zultanite displays a range of earthy hues and similar to the famous color change gem Alexandrite, it can change from kiwi greens in sunlight (candescent light) to raspberry purplish-pinks in candlelight (incandescent light). But unlike other color change gems such as Alexandrite, Zultanite's color change is not limited to two basic colors. Incredibly, the same Zultanite can also exhibit khaki greens, sage greens, cognac pinks, pinkish champagnes, canary yellows, rich champagnes and gingers in different light sources. Zultanite's kiwi greens with canary flashes are noticeable under sunny skies, while traditional indoor lighting will elicit rich champagne colors. During a candle lit dinner, the same gem reveals pink to raspberry hues. While just wearing Zultanite unveils its breathtakingly diverse colors, one of its most unique characteristics is that unlike other color changes gems, Zultanite's best color change is not dependant on dark tones. According to the leading gemstone author Antoinette Matlins, some women prefer the colors of Zultanite because they like the more subtle pastel contrast and find they complement earth tones (green, chocolate, mocha and gold), making the gem more wearable. Like all color change gemstones, the larger the Zultanite, the more visible the color change.As if one phenomena wasn't enough, some Zultanite also possess the coveted cat's eye effect. Chatoyancy or the cat's eye effect is a reflection effect that appears as a single bright band of light across the surface of a gemstone. It is caused by the reflection of light by parallel inclusions.

A gem that changes color?

Color change gems show different colors when viewed under different light sources, such as sunlight and indoor light. Astonishingly beautiful, exotic and rare, Zultanite demands a double take - its unique color change is truly that mesmerizing. If for you fashion is all about getting attention, Zultanite is set to redefine your look.

Zultanite: A Turkish Delight

When shopping for a gemstone, you are faced with an array of amazingly diverse choices, with as many different colors, cuts and countries of origin to choose from as there are individual styles. As a bridge between two cultures, Turkey is a unique blend of East and West. The birthplace of major civilizations, including the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, despite Chalcedony Quartz's name being derived from Chalcedon, an ancient port near present day Istanbul, Turkey is not usually a country associated with gemstones, until now.Relatively new to the jewelry world, Zultanite is one gemstone whose amazing natural color changing abilities makes it well suited to savvy jewelry connoisseurs. As you watch its colors change from kiwi to champagne to raspberry, you too will be entranced by Zultanite's 100% natural beauty. The pinnacle of exclusivity, beauty, rarity and desirability, Zultanite is a rising star in fine jewelry due to its sparklingly brilliant tranquil colors. Like Tanzanite, Zultanite is so rare that it comes to you from only one source in the world, a remote mountain area in Anatolia, Turkey. Named by Murat Akgun in honor of the 36 sultans who ruled the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia in the late 13th century, Zultanite is a true Turkish delight.

Iolite: gem of the Vikings

When Leif Eriksson and the other legendary Viking explorers ventured far out into the Atlantic Ocean, away from any coastline that could help them determine their position, they had a secret gem weapon: iolite. The Viking mariners used thin pieces of it as the world's first polarising filter. Looking through an iolite lens, they were able to determine the exact position of the sun, and navigate their way safely to the New World and back.The property that made iolite so valuable to the Vikings is its extreme pleochroism. Iolite has different colours in different directions in the crystal. A cube cut from iolite will look a more or less violet blue, almost like sapphire, from one side, clear as water from the other, and a honey yellow from on top. In the past, this property led some people to call iolite 'water sapphire', though the name is now obsolete.Pleochroism may have been helpful in navigation but it certainly makes life difficult for the cutter. If iolite is not cut from exactly the right direction, no matter what the shape of the raw crystal, its colour will not be shown to its best advantage.The name iolite comes from the Greek 'ion', which means violet. Iolite is usually a purplish blue when cut properly, with a softness to the colour that can be quite attractive.Iolite is readily available and surprisingly affordable. The richer the blue, the better. It is mined in India, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Brazil. The Vikings probably mined theirs from deposits in Norway and Greenland.Iolite is relatively hard but should be protected from blows. With its attractive colour and reasonable price, it may become a jewellery staple in the future.

Fingerprints of nature

The lively luminosity of its colour makes the emerald a unique gemstone. However, really good quality is fairly rare, with inclusions often marring the evenness of the colour – signs of the turbulent genesis which has characterised this gemstone. Fine inclusions, however, do not by any means diminish the high regard in which it is held. On the contrary: even with inclusions, an emerald in a deep, lively green still has a much higher value than an almost flawless emerald whose colour is paler. Affectionately, and rather poetically, the specialists call the numerous crystal inclusions, cracks or fissures which are typical of this gemstone 'jardin'. They regard the tender little green plants in the emerald garden as features of the identity of a gem which has grown naturally.So where do they come from and how is it that they exist at all? In order to answer these questions, we need to look far, far back into the time of the emerald's origin. Emeralds from Zimbabwe are among the oldest gemstones anywhere in the world. They were already growing 2600 million years ago, whilst some specimens from Pakistan, for example, are a mere 9 million years young. From a chemical-mineralogical point of view, emeralds are beryllium-aluminium-silicates with a good hardness of 7.5 to 8, and belong, like the light blue aquamarine, the tender pink morganite, the golden heliodor and the pale green beryl, to the large gemstone family of the beryls. Pure beryl is colourless. The colours do not occur until traces of some other element are added. In the case of the emerald, it is mainly traces of chromium and vanadium which are responsible for the fascinating colour. Normally, these elements are concentrated in quite different parts of the Earth's crust to beryllium, so the emerald should, strictly speaking, perhaps not exist at all. But during intensive tectonic processes such as orogenesis, metamorphism, emergences and erosion of the land, these contrasting elements found each other and crystallised out to make one of our most beautiful gemstones. The tension involved in the geological conditions conducive to the above processes produced some minor flaws, and some major ones. A glance through the magnifying-glass or microscope into the interior of an emerald tells us something about the eventful genesis of this unique gem: here we see small or large fissures; here the sparkle of a mini-crystal or a small bubble; here shapes of all kinds. While the crystals were still growing, some of these manifestations had the chance to 'heal', and thus the jagged three-phase inclusions typical of Colombian emeralds were formed: cavities filled with fluid, which often also contain a small bubble of gas and some tiny crystals. Logically enough, a genesis as turbulent as that of the emerald impedes the undisturbed formation of large, flawless crystals. For this reason, it is only seldom that a large emerald with good colour and good transparency is found. That is why fine emeralds are so valuable. But for the very reason that the emerald has such a stormy past, it is surely entitled to show it - that is, as long as only a fine jardin is to be seen, and not a rank garden which spoils both colour and transparency.

The green of life and of love

The green of the emerald is the colour of life and of the springtime, which comes round again and again. But it has also, for centuries, been the colour of beauty and of constant love. In ancient Rome, green was the colour of Venus, the goddess of beauty and love. And today, this colour still occupies a special position in many cultures and religions. Green, for example, is the holy colour of Islam. Many of the states of the Arab League have green in their flags as a symbol of the unity of their faith. Yet this colour has a high status in the Catholic Church too, where green is regarded as the most natural and the most elemental of the liturgical colours. The magnificent green of the emerald is a colour which conveys harmony, love of Nature and elemental joie de vivre. The human eye can never see enough of this unique colour. Pliny commented that green gladdened the eye without tiring it. Green is perceived as fresh and vivid, never as monotonous. And in view of the fact that this colour always changes somewhat between the bright light of day and the artificial light of a lamp, emerald green retains its lively vigour in all its nuances