| Taaffeite
is one of the rarest and most desirable
of collector's stones. Only a very
few stones have been found, most
of them originally misidentified
as spinel. Sri Lanka and Tanzania
appear to be the only sources for
this material this time. However,
because of the geological connection
between the deposits in Sri Lanka,
Madagascar, and East Africa, we
expect to find the stones in Madagascar
as well.
|
| Gemological
Information |
| Color
: |
Mauve,
reddish violet, brownish-purple, pink,
red, blue |
| Refractive
Index: |
1.71-1.72. |
| Chemical
Composition: |
Beryllium
magnesium aluminate wi |
| Hardness: |
8
- 8.5 |
| Density: |
3.60
- 3.71 |
| Crystal
Group: |
Hexagonal |
| Ocurrence: |
Tunduru,
Tanzania; Sri Lanka |
| In
1945, Count Taaffe, a Dublin gemologist
found a pale mauve stone in a jewelers
junk box that resembled spinel in
appearance and properties but showed
distinct double refraction. The
stone was sent to the British museum
for testing where they determined
it to be an unknown mineral. Although
its refractive index is nearly the
same as spinel, it can be differentiated
by its double refraction and uniaxial
negative character.
AMONG
THE TEN RAREST GEMS IN THE WORLD
Taaffeite
is a Muave/Purplish/Red Color named
after Bohemian
- Irish Gemologist Edward Taaffe,
who discovered the first one from
a Parcel of Sri Lankan
Spinel in 1945. If you collect
all the Taaffeites in the world
you could still probably get less
than a handful. Color-less to Muave
stones sell for around $1000 - 2000
Per Carat still cheap for a gem
that is literally a million times
rarer than Diamond. |
|
|
|
