This oval is a bright, moderately toned purple. It has a bit of scatter toward the girdle that is not distracting. It weighs 3.78 carats.
This gemstone has a place in the collection not because of its great beauty, but it is attractive, or size, though it is a decent size, or clarity, though it is has good crystal or … It is here because this collection is the result of a quest to cut and collect as many colors of tourmaline as I could assemble. Now I certainly violated a single minded drive to never get anything tourmaline that didn’t help fill the color wheel. I just had to indulge in Namibian blues, Nigerian reds etc. but when something different in tourmaline came along I had to try and get some. This gemstone is a purple without copper as a chromophore. It is a mild pastel with a better saturation than some other examples I have purchased, but it just doesn’t have the edge that copper purples have. Traditionally pinks that had a purplish cast were not highly valued and I think that this gemstone probably falls into that category.
After having written a bit of a put down for this gemstone, I confess that I am actively searching for purples without copper because they are different. This gemstone at 3.78 carats doesn’t have a relative in the droplets, a bit of information generally not talked about, so the quest goes on. It is nice, once in while, to value something that doesn’t have a great cost associated with it.
Bruce
Bruce
