Sapphire (rare ''Trapiche'' form)

Item Description

Sapphires are regarded amongst the most valuable gems in the world, and despite the fact that rather large crystals of colored Corundum are found in multiple world localities, transparent crystals are few and far between. In addition to the scarcity of gem Corundum crystals is the elusive "Trapiche" habit that is found in a very small percentage of these crystals, most notably from Myanmar. This piece is a polished cross section (slice) of a "Trapiche" Sapphire crystal with great form, color and translucency. The color is a soft pink hue, which plays nicely against the dark "spokes" of the internal "Trapiche". The term "Trapiche" is actually in reference to Emeralds from Colombia, as the Trapiche emeralds display six spoke-like carbon "rays" emanating from a hexagonal center with the areas in between filled with lively green. These rays appear much like asterism, the only difference being that they are fixed and do not move. A Trapiche is the result of the hexagonal shape of the crystal (both Beryl and Corundum are hexagonal), where the darker impurities interrupt the growth of the crystal and are pushed to the center of the crystal and then radiates out in the six directions of the corners of the crystal. To find this phenomenon in a Corundum is rather rare in the mineral world, and even though this is a smaller piece, it's a great example of something that few people have seen outside of the Burmese material. At the Hong Kong Show a few years ago, I was told that the top "Trapiche" Rubies were selling for up to $2500 per carat, so don't miss out on this one for a great price.