This is a very elegant cut- it's an emerald shape with clipped corners. At 5.88 carats this Swiss blue topaz is the largest we have offered this weekend. It is very well-cut (proper pavilion angle) for great brilliance. This makes the stone come alive with light! The dimensions are 10.74 x 8.28 x 6.85mm deep.
This is a very, very clean stone- the clarity is VVS or very very slightly included. This means that the inclusions are tiny and few. You will not be able to see them with your naked eye. With a 10X loupe you will be able to find them.
As with all blue topaz, this gemstone is irradiated. Topaz comes out of the ground (virtually always) as a colorless crystal. Radiation makes it blue, or surface treatment makes it pink.
This auction runs for 12 hours and starts at 7BTC with a 1BTC bid increment. As with all of our gemstones, you have 31 days from receipt to return it if it is not everything that you expect! Your total satisfaction is critical to our success.
Please be sure to add me as a friend on Facebook; I use the same avatar there as I do here- the ring with the twin diamond halos. You can find me under "David B. Fortier". You will see stones for sale in my photos, and you will also see a lot of pictures of Thailand and of jewelry that my wife Melanie and I have made here.
If you visit my blog at
http://thegemvault.tiptopgem.com/ you will notice a link both at the top of the page and on the right hand side that says "newsletter signup". If you are interested in getting my newsletter eight or ten times per year, please click on that link. I never share your email address with anyone and I only use it to send my newsletter. Opting out is very simple if you decide that I am boring. But I have to tell you- some of the most amazing gemstones are sold via the newsletter, and some of my best writing is there as well! You will learn a lot about gemstones and the gem trade if you get my newsletter. As a Graduate Gemologist and a Westerner who has spent so much time at Asian gemstone markets I have a different perspective than most others in this trade.
If you want to know a little bit about my background, please take a look at this newsletter from the Jeweler's Ethics Association. They are an organization that is striving to encourage gemstone and jewelry retailers to disclose gemstone treatments instead of the current "don't ask, don't tell" that is so prevalent in the marketplace. If you scroll down the page a bit my story is featured!
http://www.jewelersethicsassociation.com/docs/JEA%20News_Emerald%20Disclosure.html
