Have you ever heard of the gemstone, zultanite? Neither did I until I came upon the crystal clear, pale, lime green gemstone at the Tucson Gem Show.
Relatively new to the world of gems, zultanite joins the upper end of the gemstone spectrum, keeping company with the likes of diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. Held in high regard for the things that make a mineral a gemstone–color, clarity, carat weight, and cut–zultanite qualifies on all four accounts. To those I would add rarity. Let me explain.
Rarity
Zultanite is currently found in only one location: the Anatolia Mountains in Turkey. Not typically known for its gemstone quarry, Turkey has a lock on the world’s zultanite supply. To meet the demand that it would love to have grow, the Milenyum Mining Company is the first to point out that it is the sole producer of gem-quality zultanite.
Milenyum’s owner, Murat Akgun, named the gemstone zultanite to honor the 36 sultans who ruled in the 13th century Ottoman Empire, of which the current country of Turkey was once a part.
Cut
Its rarity is further enhanced by the cutting process. Zultanite is not abundant enough to have beads cut from the stone. Instead, zultanite is faceted–or cut into gemstones for precious-metal settings–by expert cutters only. Zultanite roughs can endure up to 98% waste from the cutting process, with a mere 2% of the original material–at the worst–to yield a cut gemstone for market.
Color
Rarity is exacerbated by yet another factor: color. Zultanite is a diaspore, which means that the natural crystal structure changes color with changes in lighting. Zultanite changes from an oh-so-pale kiwi shade of green in bright daylight to a gentle champagne beige under incandescent lights. (There goes your champagne beige zultanite with the ban of incandescent bulbs!)
A further change to the delicate color of a fine rosé wine occurs right when we need it: in the low romantic lighting of candelight with the one you love. You will swear that wearing your zultanite engagement ring changes color with the mood. But no dimestore “mood ring” was ever made from zultanite!
The inherent color-changing characteristic of zultanite can be compromised by the cut. Careless or inexperienced cutters have been known to cut the capability right out of zultanite’s natural tendency to change color. Obviously, not a desirable thing to happen, only experienced cutters can competently put chisel to a zultanite rough.
Carat weight
With all this rarity going against a quantitative supply, cut zultanite gemstones of 5 carats or more are fleetingly scarce, if they exist at all. So, when JayLo appears with her 12 carat zultanite pendant surrounded with diamonds, the diamonds may be real but the zultanite may not!
Clarity
Over the color changes through which zultanite can progress, one thing is clear: It is always clear! No opacity ever enters the picture. No cloudiness appears. No little inclusions interrupt the passage of light through the crystal. Only clear, bright, gentle but oh-so-pastel green, beige, or rosey clarity meets the eye.
I’m looking for zultanite gemstone jewelry to call my own. I’m calling and calling, but clearly, no answer yet.