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For Customers outside of USA

Two Exquisite Antique Genuine Natural Siberian Neon Pink Princess Cut Tourmaline Faceted Squares.

CLASSIFICATION: Princess Cut Pink Tourmaline Squares.

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

SIZE: Length: 3 1/2mm. Width: 3 1/2mm. Depth: 2 1/2mm. All measurements approximate.

WEIGHT: 0.55 carats (combined weight).

NOTES: Upon request we can set your gemstones as a ring, pendant, or into earrings.

DETAIL: Two exquisitely colored antique pink faceted tourmaline princess cut squares from the Southern Urals. These gemstones were hand crafted by a 19th century Russian artisan, part of an heritage renown for the production of the elaborate gemstones and jewelry of the Czars of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian Russia. Originally used in indigenous jewelry, Pink tourmalines are rather uncommon, probably the most valuable of the ordinary varieties of tourmaline. There is substantially more demand than supply, so thus oftentimes can be quite costly. The color of these specimens have been alternately described as hot pink, neon pink, bubble gum pink, even screaming pink. Let's just say the color is very intense, and quite vibrant. Pink 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.

These semi-precious gemstones are the exception to the rule, and are of exceptionally high quality. While you might be able to find a few minute colorless inclusions if you looked very hard at very high magnification, to the eye - and even in these 500% photo enlargements - these two gemstones are without blemish. Though they might not be absolutely flawless, there are no discernible blemishes, certainly eye clean, and with fantastic color. The trained eye will easily discern from the photo that the gemstones have been hand-faceted. The coarseness of the 19th century faceting is considered appealing to most gemstone collectors, and is not considered a detriment. Unlike today's computer controlled machine processes, the cut and finish of a gemstone such as this is the legacy of an artisan who lived two centuries ago. Such antique hand-faceted gemstones possess much greater character and appeal than today's mass-produced machine-faceted gemstones.

These gemstones have great luster and sparkle, and to the eye are essentially transparent, but they are not absolutely flawless. True, to the naked eye they are indeed flawless. Whatever minute blemishes they possess are virtually invisible to the naked eye, and the gemstones can easily be characterized, to use trade jargon, as "eye clean". Even magnified 500%, as they are here, you are not able to discern any imperfections. Of course absolutely flawless gemstones are very rare in nature - almost a sure sign the gemstone is synthetic! And if you were to scrutinize these gemstones at perhaps 1000% enlargement, you might be able to just make out a few slight blemishes within the gemstones, and of course one can see occasional irregularities in the finish. But these characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, you must also consider that two centuries ago the mining techniques even theoretically possible, let alone commonly practiced, 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 which by and large, are only visible under high magnification.

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".