Antique Genuine Natural Russian Three and One-Half Carat Antique Forest Green Oval Cut Tourmaline Catseye.

CLASSIFICATION: Tourmaline Catseye Oval Cabochon.

ORIGIN: The Ural Mountains, Russia. 19th Century.

SIZE: Length: 9mm. Width: 8mm. Depth: 6mm. All measurements approximate.

WEIGHT: 3.58 carats.

NOTES: Upon request we can set your gemstone as pendant.

DETAIL: You'll rarely see tourmaline catseye, they are a rather uncommon gemstone. This is a very large forest green colored tourmaline catseye gemstone from Siberia, the Ural Mountains of Russia. Gorgeous, vibrant, and richly hued, this striking gemstone possesses breathtaking luster and velvety texture. This colossal gemstone was hand shaped and polished into this very beautiful oval cut cabochon by a 19th century Russian artisan. The cutting and finish are rather coarse, as can be seen, but this is the ordinary state of an antique tourmaline catseye. It is a nice quality tourmaline by 19th century standards - even by today's standards, due to its rarity, it is of relatively decent quality.

The "eye" is fairly well defined, and the color is a dark forest green which truly has the flavor of a feline eye. Cat's-eye tourmaline has a distinct band of light across its face which sweeps from side to side. Known as a chatoyancy, since ancient times man recognized how closely this attribute resembled the feline eye. Ancient European and Mediterranean cultures believed it to provide protection against the adverse influences of the "evil eye". Though the feline "eye" is difficult to capture here with a scanner (the eye "travels" following the motion of the scanner tube), it is very well defined in hand.

The gemstone would be more or less translucent except for the fact that it is so thick. Tourmaline catseye ranges from translucent to opaque, as it is the magnetic alignment of tiny included particles which create the catseye. No included material (i.e., a transparent gemstone) would generally preclude a catseye. Given the thick cut, this particular gemstone is more toward opaque than translucent. By today's standards it is not an exceptionally high quality tourmaline catseye (which would generally command a price of at least $100 a carat) - though its size makes it nonetheless extraordinary. But by 19th century standards, this was a very desirable and expensive gemstone - and even today tourmaline catseye is a costly gemstone. To casual observation it seems simply a large, beautiful, quite extraordinary tourmaline catseye. But of course very close scrutiny, especially under high magnification, will reveal lots of sins.

Tourmaline was held in such high regard by the (last) Empress of China, Tz'u Hsi, that she purchased bought almost a ton of it from a mine in California, and was eventually laid to rest (eternally) on a carved tourmaline pillow. Much favored by European Renaissance and Victorian Royalty, tourmaline tends to be characterized by the presence of small colorless inclusions which causes the gemstone to lean toward translucency in most specimens. Under magnification this gemstone shows the unmistakable characteristics of having been hand crafted. The coarseness of the 19th century finish is considered appealing to most gemstone collectors, and is not considered a detriment, and does not detract from the value of a gemstone. Keep in mind however that these images here are at 400%, and every little blemish is going to appear absolutely huge. In hand to the casual view these blemishes simply are too small to attract much attention. If we were less forthcoming, it would be advantageous to simply show "life size" images. But we'd rather you see the good, the bad, and the ugly.

These characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, most serious collectors consider such gemstones more desirable, possessed of greater character and uniqueness when compared to today's cookie-cutter mass-produced machine-tumbled gemstones. Unlike today's computer controlled machine produced gemstones, the cut and finish of a gemstone such as this is the legacy of an artisan who lived two centuries ago. You must also consider that two centuries ago the mining techniques even possible then, let alone in practice, did not allow the ultra deep mining operations which are so commonplace today. Two centuries ago mankind was more or less limited to surface deposits or near surface deposits of gemstones. Higher quality gemstones which today are routinely mined from beneath hundreds of meters, even kilometers beneath the earth's surface, were simply inaccessible then. So antique gemstones must be appreciated as antiques first, gemstones second. The relatively superlative quality of contemporary gemstones routinely mined from deep beneath the earth's surface today were simply not accessible two centuries ago, or at least, only rarely so. However for most, the unique nature and character of antique gemstones such as this more than makes up for included imperfections and a rough finish.

HISTORY: Tourmaline occurs in more colors than any other gemstone variety, and has been used as gem material for more than 2000 years. Tourmaline was most likely mined by the ancient Greeks and Romans, but mistook it for emerald or topaz. Even as late as the 17th century the royal houses of Europe were purchasing "emeralds" which later turned out to be green ("chrome") tourmaline. Likewise many stones in the Russian Crown jewels from the 17th century once thought to be rubies are actually tourmalines. Gem-quality tourmaline is found throughout the African continent, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon, Brazil, and in both the United States and Russia (both in the Ural Mountains as well as Siberia). The rarest color of tourmaline is green, or chrome tourmaline, though there are very small quantities of even rarer Paraiba neon blue-green tourmaline produced in Brazil. The most popular color is peach (or pink) tourmaline, and one of the most famous mines in the world, played out and closed in 1913, was in California.

SHIPPING OPTIONS: All purchases are backed by an unlimited guarantee of satisfaction and authenticity. If for any reason you are not entirely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it for a complete and immediate refund of your entire purchase price. Most of these antique gemstones were originally part of two collections, one originating in India principally composed of gemstones originally mined in India, Burma, Ceylon, and Siam, and then hand faceted in India. The addition of a second accumulation of antique gemstones originally mined in the Urals in the mid to late 19th century (including alexandrite) completed the collection. These gemstones as well were hand finished. The Urals have been one of the world's major sources of precious and semi-precious gemstones for many centuries. As well, additional specimens are occasionally acquired from other institutions and dealers in Eastern Europe and Asia. These antique gemstones are now in the United States and are available for immediate delivery.

We ship inventory from the USA order fulfillment center near Seattle, Washington. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipping within 48 hours of payment. A certificate of authenticity is available upon request. We prefer your personal check or money order over any other form of payment - and we will ship immediately upon receipt of your check (no "holds"). We will accept PayPal payments. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE".