Lisa Elser |
Tanzania Iolite 3.45Mixed design by Tom Schlegel after an old Lapidary Journal DesignFaceted by Lisa Elser I found this material in Arusha, and was impressed at how light and large the rough was. Most Iolite gets too dark in larger sizes. I was only able to get a few top quality stones, and hope to find more later this year. Iolite is strongly tri-chroic, so orienting the stone to emphasis the blue can be tricky. After analyzing the rough, my husband modified an old design from a 1975 Lapidary Journal, and I further modified it at the machine to cut away a small inclusion at one end. It's a half-oval, and would be gorgeous in a pendant. Available |