This small standard round brilliant is from Namibia and weighs .21 carats. Color is the name of the game in such a small gemstone and this has a beautiful blue color.
This tiny round standard brilliant has a hue (color), tone level and saturation that I dream about in a larger stone. I have a number of them in the collection and they all come from Namibia. The African place for truly beautiful blues. Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I like Indicolites (blue tourmaline). I generally do not buy lots of small rough, but I got such a lot, recently( 2013), just to get more of the color this gemstone possesses. It turned out to be a very demanding set of stones. One fell apart after I finished it, most unusual, and others told me they were unhappy before I even got to that stage. The final piece I cut into an emerald cut preceded to adjust itself to being cut by cracking. Fortunately for my pocket book it had the least desirable color. What is the problem I asked with such small (less than a gram/5 carat) sized pieces of rough. I know, I know, it has been heat treated. I believe that most tourmaline rough is either faceted or at least preformed before heating, to remove surface imperfections, but Namibia is different and these crystals were not prepared for heating.
A note on droplets of color. This small round is really too small to be included in that wonderfully, vital set of standard round brilliants with wide ranging hues, tone levels and saturation that I call droplets of color. But fear not, others in its tribe are include because the droplets would not be the same without them. Posted stone weighs .21 carats.
Bruce
