There’s no need to leave the house this Fall, as the most recent issue of Bloomberg Pursuits takes us on a trip around the world to discover the most rare colored gemstones. Luxury expert and writer, Kristen Shirley, tours new ancient wonders through nine of the most sought after gemstones, including an Omi Privé grandidierite and alexandrite ring.
The 2.21 carat oval grandidierite and its bright greenish-blue plays off the contrast of the color-change alexandrite halo, which appears blue-green in daylight and a warm reddish-purple in incandescent light. Two of the most rare gemstones in the world come together in this one-of-a-kind Omi Privé piece accented with diamonds and set in platinum.
(Article Photography by Joanna McClure)
Grandidierite- As Shirley describes in her article; “Grandidierite is so rare that most collectors have never even heard of it, much less seen it in person. It was first discovered in Madagascar in 1902, but since then, so little gem-quality grandidierite has been found- only 1 in 10,0000 roughs meet the criteria- that it hadn’t made its way into jewelry. All of this changed when a new deposit was discovered in Southern Madagascar in 2014. Top-quality grandidierite has a blue-green color and is intensely saturated. The stones also tend to be quite small. Last year, Phillips had the first, and possibly only, grandidierite ever to sell at auction, when an exceptional 4.78-carat unmounted gemstone hammered for $52,500, which comes in at almost $11,000 per carat. Susan Abeles, senior vice president for jewelry at Phillips, says the bidders were the most sophisticated gemstone collectors who “recognize that it was unique and different. They probably don’t know anyone who has gem-quality grandidierite in their collection.” Today only a small number of specialists produce bespoke grandidierite jewelry, including Omi Privé, which created this ring featuring a 2.21-carat stone surrounded by alexandrite and diamonds.”
Alexandrite from Russia was also featured in the article and is a favorite of ours at Omi Privé. Often the focal point of designs, we also love incorporating alexandrite into the halos of many jewelry pieces, to compliment and contrast the selected center stone color.
“First found in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1830, this remarkable gem with extremely rare color-changing properties was named for Czar Alexander II, who was heir to the throne at the time. The stone shifts hues under different light sources: In daylight, alexandrite is green to bluish-green, and under artificial light it changes to a red to purplish-red tone. The Russian mines where the gem was originally sourced are limited in production today, but deposits have also been found in Sri Lanka, Brazil, and East Africa. Alexandrite is one of the world’s most expensive stones, at times reaching $70,000 per carat for the highest-quality specimens with intense color changes and vivid hues. Most examples, however, are less than one carat, so larger stones are exceptionally valuable” explains Shirley.
Many of the additional rare stones featured in the article are available in Omi Prive designs. The other stones featured include: black opal -Australia, conch pearl -Caribbean, tanzanite- Tanzania, peridot-Myanmar, Paraíba tourmaline-Brazil, Padparadscha sapphire and star sapphire from Sri Lanka.