Summer 2002, Volume 38, Issue 2

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Featured Gem News International Item: New sapphire locality in Afghanistan

At the 2002 Tucson shows, Dudley Blauwet of Dudley Blauwet Gems, Louisville, Colorado, showed GNI editor Brendan Laurs two sapphires (0.40 and 0.72 ct; see figure) that were reportedly mined from Medan Khar, in Vardak Province west of Kabul. Small-scale mining of the deposit started in late October 2001. During a trip to Pakistan in June 2002, Mr. Blauwet learned that at least 2 kg of rough had been produced. Approximately 1,000 carats have been cut so far, with the largest stones reaching approximately 2 ct. Almost all of the faceted stones were being sold into the local market in Peshawar. Examination of the two sapphires by Elizabeth Quinn at the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory in Carlsbad yielded the following properties: Color—dark blue to very dark blue; pleochroism—blue and bluish green; R.I.—nù=1.772, nå=1.764; birefringence—0.008; S.G.—3.98, 4.03; inert to long- and short-wave UV radiation; and iron absorption bands at approximately 450, 460, and 470 nm seen with the desk-model spectroscope. These properties are consistent with those typically found in blue sapphires. Microscopic examination revealed lamellar twin planes, needles, clouds, feathers, "fingerprints," and straight (planar) color zoning. No evidence of heat treatment was seen. (Caption) Courtesy of Dudley Blauwet Gems; photo by Maha Tannous

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