Which gemstone owes its colour to chromium

The rich, deep forest green color is a favorite in the gemstone market. Chrome diopside with medium-dark green color is the most valuable shade. The bright green shade is very well saturated all over the crystal, and the color of the stone becomes more prominent in bigger stones, and after the gemstone undergoes the necessary processing. Clarity :. Chrome diopside displays a vitreous luster and is transparent in nature.

Being a transparent crystal, the inclusions are clearly visible even to the naked eye. The stones with no or minimum flaws should be selected. With a very high refractive index of of 1. The luster of this gemstone ranges from vitreous to dull when cut and polished. In fact, in order to maintain a better production rate and reduce wastage, it is cut into shapes with rounded corners like round, oval, and pear.

To prevent high wastage, shapes like square and marquise with sharp corners are avoided. Famous cuts include the faceted emerald octagon , oval cushion, and the previously mentioned round cuts.

The cabochon cut is very rare and perhaps only with lower quality chrome diopside. Facets at shallow angles arepreferred to maximize brilliance and color. Although chrome diopside is found in large sizes, it is sold only in small sizes. The fragile and soft nature of the stone leads to a majority of the rough being wasted during processing. The ideal stone size is 8 x 6 mm or 10 x 8 mm with the carat weight between ctw for jewelry purposes.

Chrome Diopside Treatments:. How much is chrome diopside worth? This gemstone falls in the moderate price range in spite of being rare. It may even be seen as less due to its lower price. In reality, the value of this gemstone is forecasted to increase and is currently friendly with the pocket of the common man.

These properties are referred to respectively as piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity, and in many cases, can be so pronounced that crystals can even attract small bits of paper, straw or wood. Piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity are fascinating properties that are known to exist in only a handful of different types of gems, which include rare axinite , prehnite and also in chalcedony quartz.

Chrome tourmaline is found only in Tanzania, which is also the world's only source for tanzanite and tsavorite. Chrome tourmaline and tsavorite are often sourced from the same mines, but miners tend to focus more on tsavorite, owing to its higher profitability. Tanzania is also very well-known for its abundance of fine sapphire, spinel, zircon , chrysoberyl and chrysoprase.

Chrome tourmaline occurs with an attractive, medium-rich, forest-green color. The primary green color is often accompanied by secondary hues of either yellowish or bluish tones. Blue hues are best viewed under incandescent light, whilst yellows are best viewed under daylight. Bluish materials are considered more valuable, and unlike emerald, there can never be too much blue in chrome tourmaline. Chrome tourmaline color tends to darken with larger stones, often exhibiting near-blackish tones.

Some specimens may even appear opaque. The color is deepest along the main axis of tourmaline crystals, which means that precise orientation of cut is required in order to achieve the optimum color. Chrome tourmaline exhibits a remarkable level of dichroism, which means a single stone reflecting two or more different colors, or depths of color and color intensity, depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Most tourmaline gemstones are naturally included and typically found with visible fractures and needle-like inclusions, but chrome tourmaline is prized for its excellent transparency and is typically found with very few inclusions, most often being eye-clean.

Chrome tourmaline has an extremely attractive, vitreous to slightly resinous luster once cut and polished. Chrome tourmaline is strongly dichroic, making the quality of cut very important in order to highlight the best and lighter of colors. This is done through the careful orientation of cut. In order to achieve the best color, the table facet must be cut perpendicular to the c-axis, which commonly results in shapes such as long bars, baguettes and octagon or emerald cuts.

Other common shapes include cushion, round, oval, pear and triangular trillion shapes. These shapes tend to bring out the best in color, while also maximizing the rough carat weight. Chrome tourmaline is most often faceted to bring out color and brilliance, but on occasion, it may be cut en cabochon typically only lower grade materials.

Chrome tourmaline is not known to be heated, treated or enhanced in any way. In fact, most tourmaline is completely unenhanced. However, some specific varieties of tourmaline may occasionally be heated or irradiated to improve color and clarity.

Please refer to our Gemstone Glossary for details of gemology-related terms. Chrome tourmaline belongs to the vast group of tourmaline gemstones. The tourmaline family includes a variety of different gemstones with slightly different chemical compositions, and each with their own specific trade name.

Many of the trade names used today are simply based on variations of color, or are locality-based names, which aren't 'officially-recognized' names, but are used only by the most avid of gem and mineral collectors.

Synonyms for chrome tourmaline include chromium tourmaline and chromtourmaline as well as various alternative spellings. The tourmaline family consists of several specific groups: Elbaite, schorl, dravite, liddicoatite, uvite, chromdravite and buergerite. Most of the gem-quality tourmaline available today is a variety of elbaite tourmaline, but chrome tourmaline is an exceptionally rare variety of dravite.

Paraiba tourmaline , rubellite tourmaline , indicolite , cat's eye tourmaline, canary tourmaline, watermelon tourmaline , pink tourmaline and bi-color tourmaline are some of the most popular trade names of similar or related gems and minerals.

Buergerite, dravite brown , liddicoatite, uvite, tsilasite, elbaite , verdelite green , siberite purple , achroite colorless and schorl are some of the lesser known trade names of similar or related gems and minerals.

There are various legends, as well as lore, metaphysical powers and beliefs attached to the vast group of tourmaline crystals, all of which include the specific variety of chrome tourmaline as well.

Chrome tourmaline may be worn as an official birthstone for October. For those fortunate enough to celebrate their 8th year of marriage, chrome tourmaline may also be worn as an anniversary stone. Chrome tourmaline is a stone of Sagittarius the archer , and is the planetary stone for Jupiter. It is thought to be ideal for balancing the element of fire. Chrome tourmaline may also benefit all chakras, as it is an excellent base and grounding stone.

Since most chrome tourmaline exhibits more than one color, it can balance many chakras and elemental forces. Tourmaline is said to be especially powerful for friendships and love.

Physically, chrome tourmaline can help the immune system and alleviate pains associated with heart disease, arthritis and gout. It can also help those who suffer from anxiety and grief, by dispelling their fears and relaxing both the body and mind. Chrome tourmaline, like all varieties of tourmaline, is absolutely ideal for any type of jewelry design imaginable. Chrome tourmaline is hard, durable, affordable and extremely versatile. However, unlike other varieties of tourmaline stones, chrome tourmaline is typically available only in small sizes, making it best suited for smaller gem accessories, such as small rings, earrings or small pendants.

Matching pairs and lots of chrome tourmaline can be very hard to source, so matching earrings may be difficult to create without custom cutting. Note: Buy colored gemstones by size and not by carat weight. You may be surprised to know that spinel is rarer than ruby, but this has not affected its price yet.

Although spinel is still less expensive than ruby, the market for spinel has been increasing. And, now that spinel has been added as a third August birthstone, its popularity may increase further still, bringing its value up as well. While it can be difficult to say exactly how much a spinel gemstone costs, because price depends on so many factors, there have been some eye-popping price tags.

So, where to find this incredible gem? Spinel can be found on several continents, from Brazil in South America, Kenya in Africa, and especially across the southern portion of Asia, stretching from Afghanistan to Vietnam. It has been commonly found in gravel beds in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Madagascar, and marble deposits in Vietnam.