One of the mines we work with on on purchases found this 700ct Aquamarine yesterday , 10_16_2023. He said he can cut a 400ct clean Aquamarine from this.
So happy for him.
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Amazing & Beautiful. Must have been a real exciting day for all involved. Quite a find.
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I am asking this because I truly don’t know. Is it better to have a 400ct collectors or museum piece, or one cut to useable stones for the jewelry market? I’m only asking because I had a rough sapphire that was cut into 7 faceted stones, the smallest was worth more than I paid for the rough stone to begin with.
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I am unable to answer that… What I can say is that the owner is selling the 700ct piece. His is asking price is $230.000.it will produce 400ct Clean.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History holds one of the largest mineral crystals found inside Earth’s rocks.
This roughly 4.6-pound gem was cut from a massive 100-pound aquamarine crystal unearthed in the late 1980s. " The Dom Pedro "
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Any crystal is only worth what it can be sold for. Back in the 1970’s my father, a custom jeweler, had a very old family friend who’s family mined aqua on their “farm” outside of Teofilo Otoni, Brazil. We went down to visit his family on Christmas 1974 or 1975. After a brief stop in Rio we made our way to his home in Teofilo. During our week there we went around to various cutting shops etc. The day before we left our friend took us to a relatives house and opened up the large safe. In it were kilos of morganite, kunzite, amethyst, topaz and the aqua that they found on their farm and traded for all the other rough. They had a single crystal of aqua that was approximately 2 feet long and about 6" in diameter. It weighed 22 kilos and was about 85% gem, top to bottom. I actually got to hold it for a photo, which I can’t find right now. But here’s the rest of the story. For the next couple of years our gem dealer friend tried to sell the crystal intact, as a magnificent specimen. Asking price as I think $2 million at that time. He got turned down by the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, and several European museums. No museum or philanthropic donor could be found. Finally, they sliced up the crystal and sold the pieces to various wealthy individuals all over the world. I don’t know what they finally realized from the sales, but it was necessary from a business prospective. Very sad to see such a magnificent crystal not kept intact. I’m just privileged to have seen and held it before it’s demise. Gem dealing is a for profit business and unless you find a wealthy donor, whatever brings the most profit will prevail.
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Sad but true
It is a sad fact that many beautiful crystals get cut up into small stones. Such cutting also discards scientifically valuable information from inclusions in such crystals. I presume most museums now have enough large crystals, and very few private collectors want large crystals in preference to covering their loved ones with gemstones. Also, gone are the days when kings and emperors would commission cups and goblets from precious stones.
Was that how it was found? In other words, was it found in isolation (not attached to other stone? Could you possibly PM me with an email of the miner, I have a research related question and would be very interested in seeing pictures of all surfaces.
Thanks!
The crystal was found in the wilds of Minas Gerais, a couple hours drive out of Teofilo Otoni. The brothers owned a large tract of land in basically the wild area adjacent to a wide river. They used a caterpillar to scoop out the red mud in the bottom of the valley each summer after the rainy season. about 1.5 to 2.5 meters down at the bottom is where the aquas were fround. However, the details of exactly where this big crystal was found is a secret for the obvious reason. Also because hiding the discovery and ownership of the crystal to avoid government taxes was paramount. It was, as far as the government knew, “sold” back and forth several times to increase the value and reduce the tax burden, as well as obscuring the provenance.
Both of the brothers that owned the “farm” are now long deceased. That photo was taken 50 years ago, and to my knowledge is the only one that exists. As I believe i stated in a previous reply, the crystal was sliced up and sold in pieces since no buyer of museum would cough up the money for the whole crystal. very sorry but can not help you.