Recent American Gems/Minerals in the News....

In one of our past editions of our Monthly News, we noted the large Emerald found in North Carolina (August 2009). This 62.09gram (310.45ct) resulted in a faceted free-form step cut that weighed 74.66cts - that's about a 24% yield from the rough, but about 20% more than the average rough calculations estimate. This was recut by another facetor and yielded a 64.83ct hexagonally shaped gemstone. When looking at the shape of the piece of rough, this is the shape that I personally believe would produce the best yield, as this was roughly the shape of the rough, the habit of a Beryl (Emerald) crystal. The final yield is about 21%. This gemstone has been named the Carolina Emperor and is the largest faceted U.S. Emerald.

One can read more of this on line by using a search engine or by obtaining a copy of Gems and Gemology Magazine (GIA), Winter 2010.