Fine Trapiche Emerald Cabochon

Coscuez, La Pena Blancas
Muzo Mining District, Columbia
Trapiche emeralds are in a class by themselves and are perhaps the rarest and most memorable of "pattern" gems—certainly the most unusual amongst the big three of emerald, ruby and sapphire. Trapiche is the Spanish word for a "spoked wheel" used to grind sugar cane, which bears a striking resemblance to the pattern in these emeralds. They are typically cut en cabochon to display the beautiful spoke-like star which emanates from a hexagonal center with the areas in between filled with lively green emerald. These rays, which appear like asterisms, are not caused by light reflections from tiny parallel inclusions (as are stars), but from white albite feldspar impurities that happen to form in the same pattern. Gemological examination shows that the trapiche is a single crystal and not a twinned specimen as was originally thought. Trapiche emeralds are valued based on a number of factors: saturation and even color, clarity, size and the most important being the definition, completeness and centering of the "rays."

The present well-fashioned cabochon is an extraordinary opportunity for the collector due to its large size, rich saturation of color, sharpness of the spokes and clarity of emerald material visible between. Weighing approximately 10.80 carats and measuring 16.2 x 14.5 x 5.0mm