Lefty said:
Nice looking star, maybe you should have some fun; Guess the weight....., I'll open with 12.5ct
Stones I have cut
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Nice looking star, maybe you should have some fun; Guess the weight....., I'll open with 12.5ct
That's beautiful. Got one little stone that might be a star, I'm really hoping it is but won't hold my breath. Love seeing your pics of finished stones. Beats all the political crap that seems to come with prospecting these days. The way I see it it's all about celebrating the beauty that nature has produced. I also love collecting seashells for the same reason and I don't even have to have skill or patience to make them look their best!
9.25ct my guess... :Y:
LW....
LW....
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Dave79 said:
Cheers Dave.
Have a close look at your stone under strong light (not fluro or LED - sunlight is best but incandescent works too) and see if you can detect a gold-bronze or silvery sheen as you tip and rotate it under the light. A little bit of clear, oily stuff or glucose or pale honey on the stone helps. If you're certain you can see the sheen then there's a fair chance it will throw a star.
Seashells need no work, they are already perfect by nature! We used to collect cowrie shells from the rockpools at the local beach as kids, the surface of them was so glossy that you would swear someone actually had polished them.
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Weigh-in is getting closer (after dinner) 
In the meantime, here's another one - a lovely yellow-green star sapphire, cabbed for a jeweller mate. From his old lease at Reward years ago. It's probably about three quarters the size of the previous one and is probably one of the cleanest star sapphires I think I've handled. He sent it out to be heated but the bloke sent it back saying it would be a shame to heat such a nice star. It's so clean that if it actually were heated, it would easily be faceting grade.
Veiw through the side - most stars are largely or completely opaque but this one is quite translucent.
In the meantime, here's another one - a lovely yellow-green star sapphire, cabbed for a jeweller mate. From his old lease at Reward years ago. It's probably about three quarters the size of the previous one and is probably one of the cleanest star sapphires I think I've handled. He sent it out to be heated but the bloke sent it back saying it would be a shame to heat such a nice star. It's so clean that if it actually were heated, it would easily be faceting grade.
Veiw through the side - most stars are largely or completely opaque but this one is quite translucent.
That is a beautiful star Lefty, one the nicest I've seen to be honest.
Lefty said:Cheers Heatho - yeah, I was amazed by how clean it was. I wonder what it would take to convince my mate to part with it?
Dunno but it's just so silky smooth looking. No cracks or even a blemish.
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Hmm - shape really dictates weight doesn't it? I expected that green star to only be about three-quarters the weight of the first one - in fact it's not that much lighter at 10.2 carats.
The first one is longer and wider but lower, while the second is a bit shorter and narrower than the first but the shape allowed for a signficantly higher dome.
The first one is longer and wider but lower, while the second is a bit shorter and narrower than the first but the shape allowed for a signficantly higher dome.
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A nice rhodolite-ish garnet (given that a 100% pure garnet variety hardly exists in nature and they are almost all a blend of more than one type). The colour is striking! And yes, the camera actually captured the colour as the eye sees it without adjustment. Pyralspite sub-group garnets are often so deeply colour saturated that they are a bit dark but this one is just right. Still, I cut it in a fairly shallow design just in case ("Lighthouse"). Finished dead on 2 carats.
Unfortunately, this one had an inclusion in it that was invisible until it almost reached the surface. It sits just under the table and ran too deep for me to be able to keep chasing it down. It's not that visible in these photos but shows as a little white spot to the eye at certain angles - I think I'll just have to put this one aside 8.(
Unfortunately, this one had an inclusion in it that was invisible until it almost reached the surface. It sits just under the table and ran too deep for me to be able to keep chasing it down. It's not that visible in these photos but shows as a little white spot to the eye at certain angles - I think I'll just have to put this one aside 8.(
Looks a lovely stone, plus has added character
I know one guy who cuts and uses inclusions to prove it's natural though he does try and place then at the girdle so setting covers them, not always possible though.
Nothing is perfect in nature and when you see what occurs within some very high value stones like Rubies I am past worrying, part of the stones character. A good example is Madagasca Rubies, full of cracks and inclusions yet still valuable stones, the one below is 8.3ct and going to be re-cut to give it some life as it's 'dead' right now. Heaps happening inside.
I know one guy who cuts and uses inclusions to prove it's natural though he does try and place then at the girdle so setting covers them, not always possible though.
Nothing is perfect in nature and when you see what occurs within some very high value stones like Rubies I am past worrying, part of the stones character. A good example is Madagasca Rubies, full of cracks and inclusions yet still valuable stones, the one below is 8.3ct and going to be re-cut to give it some life as it's 'dead' right now. Heaps happening inside.
