Grandidierite 1.21 ct – Oval Cut, Madagascar

This grandidierite weighs 1.21 ct and comes from Madagascar. It is worked in an oval cut and is untreated — at over one carat it lies well beyond what this material can usually be cut into.

The oval cut brings the most weight home on elongated rough and looks softer than a rectangle at the same time. The facets are laid out so that the light returns across the full length.

About grandidierite

Grandidierite was discovered in Madagascar in 1902 by Alfred Lacroix and named after the French explorer Alfred Grandidier. For decades the mineral was known almost exclusively in a cloudy, opaque form — facetable, clear material remained the exception and still comes almost entirely from southern Madagascar. Cut stones above one carat count as a rarity among collectors.

Its colour lies between blue-green and green-blue and comes from iron in the crystal lattice. The pronounced trichroism is striking: depending on the viewing direction, the same stone appears colourless, blue-green or dark green. With a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5, grandidierite is considerably more robust than many other collector stones; a distinct cleavage nonetheless demands care when cutting and setting.

Specifications

• Stone type: grandidierite
• Weight: 1.21 ct
• Origin: Madagascar
• Cut shape: oval
• Treatment: none, untreated
• Cutting: our own workshop
• Location: Austria
• Availability: unique piece, one only

Further single pieces from the same material can be found under Grandidierite, rare species beyond it under More gemstones. Would you like your own rough stone cut, or an existing stone reworked? We take that on in our workshop — more under Services.