Fredos gems: MOONSTONE – OVER THE BLUE MOON

GEMS AND GEMOLOGY

Gemology has been a fascinating hobby of mine for over 20 years, reading up “Gemstones of the World” by Walter Schumann, attending practical classes on coloured gemstones, and visiting gem mining areas. I acquired some pieces, both priced and less well known, of various colours, shapes and cuts from gem-producing areas like Burma,Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia etc. These have since grown to quite a collection.

Among the 63 gems species are: traditional gemstones - corundum(sapphire,ruby), beryl (emerald,aquamarine), fancy diamond; and others - spinel, chrysoberyl(cat's eye,alexandrite), tanzanite, garnet(tsavorite, spessartite,), tourmaline(rubellite,indocolite), zircon, topaz, quartz(amethyst,citrine), chalcedony(agate,chrysoprase), feldspar(moonstone,labradorite), kyanite, peridot, kunsite, scapolite, flourite and many other lesser known gemstones. (view complete list on blog archive on the right with traditional gemstones at the bottom. click on types of interest to you.)

I'm now divesting my collection. An abbreviated description is provided below each photo, including price. Example 1: m2(size ref) tq(turquoise gem) ov(oval shape) plgnbl(pale greenish blue colour) afg ( Afghanistan country) 3.82 (carat weight) (18.7x8.5mm)(dimensions LxW) in mm) op (opaque clarity) 175 (USD 175 price) 10b30 N18(ref no and location). Example 2:"sa (type sapphire), ov(shape oval), dpbl(colour deep blue), af(origin Africa), 4.43(weight in carat), (11.3x10.2x4.6mm)dimension LxWxD, ec(clarity eyeclean), 1k(price US$1000)".

Personal viewing can be done for friends in Singapore.

Those outside Singapore, purchase can be secured via registered post upon payment in USD(or Singapore equivalent) via paypal, money/postal order, account transfer/cheque (Singapore) or other mutually agreed arrangement. Do have a look and contact me for any other details.

Happy viewing!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

MOONSTONE – OVER THE BLUE MOON

The pretty Moonstone is the opalescent variety of Orthoclase (a subgroup of potassium Feldspar), with a bluish white “schiller” or sheen, like the shine of the moon after which it is named. This is caused by the reflection of light from the internal structure, made up of alternating layers of albite and orthoclase feldspar. Thin albite layers give an attractive blue; thicker layers produce a white sheen. Moonstone comes in many colours. Its cat’s eye variety is very popular. There is also the rare 4-rays star moonstone . It is usually cut en cabochon. Given its vitreous lustre and “schiller”, and reasonable cost, it is makes for fine jewellery. The best material is from Burma and Sri Lanka. It is the birthstone for June (as with Pearl).

Cat’s eye and star Moonstone

g1 mn st4r ceov wh 48.66(26x19.9x13.5) 900 b2 L76	h1 mn cecv gn 29.57(23x14x13.2) 600 8b25 L78
h1 mn ceov wh gntt 24.65(25x16.3x10.2) 500 8b29 M30	h1 mn ceov o br 21.66(25x13.5x8.7) 430 8b25 M21
h2 mn ceov gygn 19.06(21x14.8x7.9) 380 8b26 M20	h2 mn ceov wh 17.36(20x15x8.8) 350 8b26 M53
h2 mn st4r mkwh in 17.12(18.6x15.3x8.5) 400 8b27 M66	h2 mn ceov wh 16.50(20x15.2x7.4) 330 8b26 M11
h2 mn ceov whg 14.0(18x13x8.4) 300 8b26 M66	h mn ceov gn 12.64(16.5x10x10) 2500 8b27 N54
h mn ceov pe 11.64(15.5x13.1x7.8) 230 8b27 M15	h mn ceov blgy 11.06(14.4x11.6x8.8) 220 8b27 M41
l1 mn ceov wh gntt 9.14(13.4x11.8x8) 185 8b27 M20	l2 mn st4r ovc ltgn ce 7.60(12.3x10x8.8) 250 8b27 NR35
l3 mn ceov pch in 6.02(14.1x10.2x5.9) 150 8b27 C4	m1 mn ceov o 4.90(11.7x9.2x6.1) 250 8b27 T62
m3 mn ceov1 wh pr 2.0ea(9x7) 40 8b29 C6	m3 mn ceov2 wh pr 2.0ea(9x7) 40 8b29 C6