Ethiopian Peridot

Ethiopian Peridot!! My reaction exactly when the award winning cutter, Ben Kho, showed me this stone during the recnet Trade Show in Las Vegas.

We all know the usual sources for Peridot....Arizona, Burma, Pakistan and occasionaly a very sweet piece from Norway or Egypt. What has made the stones from the last two locations special is the hint of "blue", which is most rare in Peridot. We have sometimes seen similar colors from the more recent finds in Pakistan.

I was amazed when I spotted the stone with Ben, presuming it to be Norwegian, being told that it was in fact from Ethiopia. It has that tell-tale trace of blue. He had two other stones he was able to cut from the rough which he sold immediately to collectors. I persuaded him that he really wanted to sell this 11.15ct trillion cut to us and now we have it to show! The stone is a perfectly cut trillion of 14.5mm and the photo you see doesn't do it justice.........but its close!

Incidentally, I was amazed to see a large quantity of Burmese Peridot in large sizes on display in many booths at the show. I have no ideas if the recent cataclysmic cyclone that devasted Burma was in any way responsible for the surge of material, but it is often the case that in times of adversity gem rough appears on the market.