Send me exclusive offers, unique gift ideas, and personalized tips for shopping and selling on Etsy. So I took my time and etched very slowly over the next week. Showing 1 to 1 of 1 (1 Pages) The Benitoite Fee Dig is now only open on Saturdays and by reservation only. The most popular color? Sapphire Blue color and Diamond like dispersion combine to make Benitoite a spectacular gemstone. And . This piece had dozens of facet grade crystals on it, but this story is really not about this end of the specimen. If you wish to see it and a brief video of this gemstone, please visit my Loose Benitoite Gemstones page. Fantastic cluster of lustrous, sharp blue benitoite crystals from old finds at the classic Benitoite gem mine in California. Price between . The mine is … I like to say that the mine is just sleeping! This plate was cut and etched from a vein running through a mud encrusted 100 pound boulder. Etsy uses cookies and similar technologies to give you a better experience, enabling things like: Detailed information can be found in Etsy’s Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy and our Privacy Policy. OK, so if a two carat Benitoite is extremely rare; then a three carat Benitoite is exceedingly rare! The most popular color? Benitoite is one of the most beautiful rare gemstones. Sellers looking to grow their business and reach more interested buyers can use Etsy’s advertising platform to promote their items. Current Mine Status (Closed to the Public). For a while I paid no attention to this thin vein, since I had never had any luck chasing out such a thin vein. Farmers' Association carries a full line of feeds, pet supplies, fertilizer, chemicals, wildlife supplies, and lawn and garden products. In addition, in it's 105 year history, none of the previous owners searched for benitoite using shortwave UV. And . Learn more. by Eloah. Benitoite gems for sale: This extemely rare gem is from the now closed Benitoite Gem Mine in San Benito County, California, USA - the only location in the world for gem-quality Benitoite. The most popular color? This amazing gemstone is on consignment. Order gemstones, loose gemstones, gemstone rings and gemstone engagement rings like this Rare Size in Fine Gem Benitoite Loose Gem in Oblong Cut, 11.61 x 6.41 x 4.49 mm, 2.69 carats with GIA Certificate . This plate sold in Tucson 2012 for 5 figures. Once you have found a nice raw specimen, many would like to properly clean them or acid etch them to see it there might be more crystals within and under the natrolite. In doing so, a lot of material was overlooked. However the Benitoite Mine Fee Dig has been in operation since 2009. The other crystal, even larger, 2.2 cm by approximately 1.7 cm tall, by 8.5 mm thick. Items/page . In the past, most of the super gem quality crystals I have found, were found in and around this "green natrolite". Cookies and similar technologies are used to improve your experience, to do things like: Without these technologies, things like personalized recommendations, your account preferences, or localisation may not work correctly. LOCATION: The Benitoite Gem mine is located on a small mining claim (the Dallas claim) in San Benito County, California, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Find out more in our Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy. The entire specimen weighs 98 carats, and the larger of to 2 crystals is approximately 30 carats and the other is approximately 25 carat. How such a solution occurred and what other conditions caused the crystallization of these rare minerals is still not well understood. Benitoite, Neptunite, and Joaquinite. This is the focus of my personal collection - benitoite from any global locality and mineral species from the Benitoite Gem mine. Benitoite is a rare blue gemstone that is found in only one location on earth, San Benito county, California, USA. Take full advantage of our site features by enabling JavaScript. It was first thought to be sapphire or blue diamond due to it's deep blue color and amazing internal fire. Saying no will not stop you from seeing Etsy ads, but it may make them less relevant or more repetitive. It had a vein of natrolite running thru it. This piece of rough weighed in at a wopping 34.4 carats. Benitoite is a very rare and beautiful gemstone found only in San Benito County in California. Benitoite also fluoresces a beautiful blue color under shortwave UV light. These pieces are usually crossite / schist with natrolite on top or running thru the pieces with no fluorescence at all. 4.3 out of 5 stars 10. . I have personally found a piece that after being etch, yielded several over 2 cm. These solutions contained a number of unusual elements such as barium, titanium, fluorine, iron, cesium, niobium, manganese and lithium in relatively high concentrations. Near it was a very thin vein of benitoite that began to show up which ran thru the back of the piece for about 2 inches. Most of the benitoite specimens you see for sale are loose-cut gems, not finished jewelry pieces. D16B-109 Neptunite with Benitoite $750.00 Miniature, 5.3 x 3.1 x 2.2 cm Dallas Gem Mine, San Benito Co., California, USA (4 more images) 1 of 5: Word Search, Sudoku, and Word Scramble Puzzles. The upper portion, and the first group of crystals found are one specimen now. With the color of the most valuable tanzanite, it is easy to see why it is so valued. It's truely unique Hexagonal - Ditrigonal Dipyramidal ( triangular shaped ) crystals, are unlike anything on earth. Further examination revealed it as a new gemstone. Whenever things are a little slow, I usually take a few pieces of benitoite potential matrix and throw them in some acid to see if any signs of benitoite show up. Visit celestialearthminerals.com for … Well, after about a month, I started to etch the other end of this piece and this is where the story takes an amazing turn. They are formed in fractures of a serpentine rock from hydrothermal solutions. That is why great specimen pieces and facet rough are still being found today. The most common benitoite material is ruby. The larger crystal, even with the fractures present, some internal and some just on the surface, might cut at least 1, 5 carat stone and a few smaller stones, and by smaller I mean 1 or 2 carats each, and this is just the larger crystal. It was faceted into 4 stones, the largest of which is a beautiful flawless 8.06 carat gemstone (pictured below). (833) GEMHUNT / 436-4868. AGL has become an iconic brand for uncompromised standards and excellence in gemstone reporting and is regularly featured by the auction houses of Christie’s and Sotheby’s for important colored stones they are offering for sale. Collector's Edge - former owner of the Benitoite Mine - had about 2 tons of mine run material left over from the last year's production at the mine. There are 389 benitoite for sale on Etsy, and they cost $153.95 on average. You guessed it: … Will you find a big plate worth ten's of thousand's of dollars, the possibility is still there. Benitoite - Deep sapphire-blue Benitoite crystals to 1cm partially embedded in white Natrolite and matrix. For a limited time we are resuming the sale of uncleaned mine run material! Unfortunately that was short lived and now with the EPA's / BLM closure of the area, there is no way of knowing if anyone will ever get the chance again to dig at the mine. Closing time is around 3:00 pm. Contact: Christopher P. Smith Since benitoite is already so expensive, you might want to simply pay a little extra on top of that to get it crafted into custom jewelry. As I began to etch this piece, many gemmy benitoite crystals started to appear on one end. The Benitoite gemstones for sale in this category are all natural gemstones! Benitoite . It's original name was the Dallas Mine, then it was called the Cole Mine for a while, then The Benitoite Gem Mine, The Gem Mine and it is now called the California State Gem Mine. The cost increases greatly as the size of the cut stone increases due to the rarity of large facet grade crystals. It can be found in differing shades of blue, violet, white, clear, and on very rare occasions very pale pink, but the Deep Blue color is the most desirable. Buy Gemstones and Gemstone Rings like this Rare Size in Fine Gem Benitoite Loose Gem in Oblong Cut, 11.61 x 6.41 x 4.49 mm, 2.69 carats with GIA Certificate on SALE now at AfricaGems.com. Did you scroll all this way to get facts about benitoite? A very well balanced specimen hosting benitoite, neptunite and joaquinite crystals. This specimen below is a good example of what can hide under the natrolite. Unfortunately it is very rare. There are no products in your shopping cart. If you go to our How To Page, you will find a guide to etching a benitoite specimen as you follow me while I walk you thru a specimen I etched. After 100 years, the Benitoite Gem Mine is finally open and offering field trips to the public. Well you're in luck, because here they come. Quality and Satisfaction Guaranteed Since 1988. Collectors and jewelry designers who make natural artisan jewelry sent you an email to confirm your subscription rare occurs. 'S of thousand 's of dollars, the other is clear to light,. 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