Sillimanite Back to 100 reserve Gem Auctions #146

• Starting Time:1/28/2010 06:45:00 PM(CST)
• Ending Time:2/4/2010 06:45:00 PM(CST)

• Time Left:Auction Is Closed

• Size:3.70 ct
• Size Description:12.0 mm x 7.2 mm

Description:Sillimanite is actually trimorphous with Kyanite and Andalusite which means that they have the same chemistry, but different crystal habits create different minerals, just like Brookite, Anatase and Rutile. Sillimanite is sometimes called "Fibrolite" because of the fibrous nature of the material, but this stone is different from most Sillimanite on the market. This is actually pretty rare material, and one of the few I''ve seen in this clarity. This gem is essentially colorless, but it is certainly one of the larger facetted gems from India that I have seen. It has a "Portuguese Oval" cut and is virtually eye clean. I don''t get many of these stones, and considering that the large majority of the Sillimanite in the world is used for cat''s eye stones, clean material is very difficult to find. The high end retail value on this gem is $296.