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I bought this unbelievable rarity today in the gemstone market here in Bangkok.  I've never seen a transparent gem-quality laboradite feldspar anywhere near this size or quality.  I see huge numbers of gems for sale here in the wholesale markets all day, every day- but this is truly something very special.  I went ahead and got an independent laboratory report that will assure the next owner that an independent gemologist has verified my identification and this is indeed natural labradorite feldspar.  This stone weighs 28.15 carats as you can see on the report below.  What a behemoth!  What really took my breath away after all of the brilliance and color was the incredible custom cutting.  This isn't a native-cut stone but was cut on an index machine- the type of machine that high-end Western and Japanese gemstone cutters use to ensure that every angle is perfect.  The result is astonishing.

http://s13.postimage.org/qr7l21xrb/DSCN8312.jpg

As always if you would rather have a GIA laboratory report, or Tokyo Gem Lab, or AIGS, or any of the independent labs that have facilities here in Bangkok (virtually all of them do) I would be happy to get the appropriate report for you for a reasonable fee.  I have confidence in Hallmark as they are very professional and thorough and every stone that I have ever taken there has been properly identified.  Sometimes my customers buy for their clients and they might lean toward one lab or another for marketing preferences which is understandable. 

http://s10.postimage.org/x5z7p6lsp/DSCN8321.jpg

The straw yellow color is amazing in this very large gemstone.  If you have ever had the experience of looking over a wheat field near harvest time you know this color.  Once the wheat comes off and the stalks of straw are left behind you see that gorgeous yellow carpet rolling toward the horizon.   The way the color and cut work together on this feldspar is really noteworthy as well- as light plays across the stone the facets seem to lighten and darken in a symphony of motion and brilliance. 

http://s15.postimage.org/rnsf0c56j/DSCN8315.jpg

I photographed this stone in a variety of positions, different lighting, and with different backgrounds to show you how it has a fabulous presence in virtually any situation.  Whether you view it at home or in the office, inside our outdoors, the unmistakable marks of ultimate quality in cut and color show through.  That is one mark of a truly luxurious gemstone- the ability to be beautiful in any light, and in any circumstance. 

http://s13.postimage.org/lbzbkgn53/DSCN8322.jpg

Speaking of "presence"- that is the undefinable characteristic that I look for in every stone that I buy.  It is not just color, not just shape or cut or brilliance, but it is the ability of the stone to communicate with me.  A stone can have many or all of the right things- a beautiful color, a pleasing shape, and lots of brilliance- but might still be a bit of a wallflower because it lacks presence.  Presence is what my clients see when they open the package and take out the stone, and are shocked that it is so much better than the pictures.  This is not unusual.  There is no way that a digital camera can capture presence.  Too many nuances of color and light are missing.  The information is not all there.  But this incredible labradorite has presence in abundance.

http://s16.postimage.org/ns66vfbk5/DSCN8331.jpg

Presence goes hand-in-hand with pride.  Whether this stone eventually becomes a piece of heirloom quality jewelry or the centerpiece of a very fine gemstone collection is largely a matter of pride.  As I am a connoisseur of beautiful things I understand pride well.  I might see a fabulous painting in an art musuem, and the presence is there for anyone with taste to see and feel- but pride is hanging that same painting on your own wall.  I love to sell gemstones that people can be proud of, and certainly this is one.

http://s15.postimage.org/yak4qmt6j/DSCN8334.jpg

This stone is on auction for 12 hours only.  Starting bid is 190BTC.  This price includes Federal Express delivery and 5,000 USD insurance on the parcel.  It also includes the Hallmark Report.  Any other laboratory report is an additional cost.

This auction ends:

Wednesday, March 7th at 03:26:20 AM

This stone was mined between Soanindrariny and Antsirabe, Madagascar.

http://s13.postimage.org/9uetymyp3/Screenshot_at_2012_03_06_22_32_23.png

The clarity on this stone is VVS (very very slightly included) so the inclusions are very few and very tiny.  It is not treated in any way.

No bids; I will take 180BTC including Federal Express expedited shipping and 5,000 USD insurance.  Insured value and declared value for customs purposes are two different things; you will not have to pay significant import tax on this gemstone.

I am a GIA Graduate Gemologist with eight years experience buying and selling colored gemstones.  If you have any questions at all about this stone or about colored stone in general, including questions about treatment or the supply chain, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.  I am more than happy to answer your questions.  Thailand is the colored gemstone capital of the world; it is estimated that 70% of colored gemstones that sell in Western markets moved through this country.  Because we are based here in Bangkok, my wife and I have a unique advantage in supplying colored gemstones.

Feel free to add me on Facebook- my name is "David B. Fortier" and my avatar there is the same as it is here on the bitcointalk forum.  Also if you go to my blog at tiptopgem.com (http://tiptopgem.com), you will have a chance to sign up for my newsletter which is sent out maybe 8 times per year.  In the newsletter I cover topics like origin of gemstones, inclusions, gemstone treatments, and current market information regarding colored gemstones here in Thailand.  There are also sometimes stones for sale that are offered nowhere else.

Send me a note and say hello now:  dave@tiptopgem.com

I will take 175BTC including Federal Express expedited shipping and 5,000 USD insurance.  Insured value and declared value for customs purposes are two different things; you will not have to pay significant import tax on this gemstone.

I will take 170BTC including Federal Express expedited shipping and 5,000 USD insurance.  Insured value and declared value for customs purposes are two different things; you will not have to pay significant import tax on this gemstone.

Have you considered putting your stones up on Bitmit?
http://bitmit.net (http://bitmit.net/en/?ref=1836)

No, I hadn't before- but now I am!

I will take 165BTC including Federal Express expedited shipping and 5,000 USD insurance.  Insured value and declared value for customs purposes are two different things; you will not have to pay significant import tax on this gemstone.

160BTC including Federal Express expedited shipping and 5,000 USD insurance.  Insured value and declared value for customs purposes are two different things; you will not have to pay significant import tax on this gemstone.

155BTC including $5,000 insurance and FedEx.

Please take a look at my Bitmit auctions!

http://bitmit.net/user/tiptopgemdotcom (http://bitmit.net/user/tiptopgemdotcom)

150BTC including $5,000 insurance and FedEx.

Please take a look at my Bitmit auctions!

http://bitmit.net/user/tiptopgemdotcom (http://bitmit.net/user/tiptopgemdotcom)

145BTC including $5,000 insurance and FedEx.

Please take a look at my Bitmit auctions!

http://bitmit.net/user/tiptopgemdotcom (http://bitmit.net/user/tiptopgemdotcom)

and my tanzanite auction with NO RESERVE:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76857.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76857.0)

I think you can take "12 hours only" away from the topic since this "auction" has now been going for more than a month.

I can't edit topics here- it is disabled.  While the initial auction was 12 hours, I will continue to discount it until it is sold. 

I will take 140BTC for this extremely rare gemstone, and I will provide FedEx shipping and $5,000 insurance on the parcel.  Insured value and the value that is declared for customs are two separate amounts!  I have never had a client pay a substantial amount of money to import a gemstone.

I will take 137.5BTC for this extremely rare gemstone, and I will provide FedEx shipping and $5,000 insurance on the parcel.  Insured value and the value that is declared for customs are two separate amounts!  I have never had a client pay a substantial amount of money to import a gemstone.

DISCOUNTED AGAIN

I will take 135BTC for this extremely rare gemstone, and I will provide FedEx shipping and $5,000 insurance on the parcel.  Insured value and the value that is declared for customs are two separate amounts!  I have never had a client pay a substantial amount of money to import a gemstone.

I will take 132.5BTC for this extremely rare gemstone, and I will provide FedEx shipping and $5,000 insurance on the parcel.  Insured value and the value that is declared for customs are two separate amounts!  I have never had a client pay a substantial amount of money to import a gemstone.

130BTC now and same terms on FedEx and insurance

128.5BTC and same terms on FedEx and insurance

126BTC and same terms on FedEx and insurance

120BTC includes registered air mail and insurance

Same terms on FedEx and insurance as above, but 128BTC is the price!

Same terms on FedEx and insurance as above, but 127BTC is the price!

125BTC, same terms on FedEx and insurance

99BTC and same terms on FedEx and insurance

I will accept 90BTC.  This price includes Federal Express delivery and 5,000 USD insurance on the parcel.  It also includes the Hallmark Report.

Beautiful stone, I'm not looking to buy but I wish you luck in selling.

Thank you Aghori!  I really like the idea behind investing more in training and quality machinery in source countries so they can produce fabulous gems.  Very often a large, rare stone like this would move out of Madagascar as rough at a very low price.  By the time it gets to the cutter it has been marked up by several businesses along the way, at which time it is cut on a precision, high-quality machine to exacting standards.

Well, by golly- guess what?  The simple folk living in Madagascar can produce just as fine a stone if given an opportunity to learn and supplied with exceptional equipment.  This means that instead of 99% of the profit being made on the consumer side of the gemstone market- in Europe and America and China for example- a lot more of the profit stays in Madagascar.  Gemstones are like any other natural resource in a way.  If an autocratic or military government wants to let a profiteer come in and cut down all the trees to line the fat cat's pockets, it's hard to prevent.  A lot of charges like this have been leveled against the government and the powerful business people there to gain control of land, sell precious hard wood, and also the northeastern province of the country has some magnificent zircon mines.  Of course the raw materials that are stolen from the people and sold for raw-material prices give nothing back to the economy, they just make the thieves rich. 

At times gemstones seem an even more poignant example because a sapphire discovered by a poor, independent miner armed only with a shovel is extremely likely to sell it to an Indian, Thai, or Sri Lankan rough dealer who moves it down the line- but of course at that juncture it can be purchased for a tiny bit of cash.  A fine sapphire in a consumer market like Germany or Singapore can bring a sum of money that stretches to the stratosphere, but the miner who found it is still digging each day to find the next stone to pay for the next meal and try to keep his children in school.

Even if this stone never sells, I will enjoy it for its beauty and for what it represents, which to me is a step in the right direction for the colored gemstone trade.
 

* now sold (it did not sell here but on Facebook)

Which leads me to say- feel free to add me on facebook.  My name is David B. Fortier and my profile is very easy to spot because it has this avatar:

http://s12.postimage.org/joroyg46l/David_B_Fortier_Mozilla_Firefox_001.jpg