Gem News International Gems & Gemology, Spring 2023, Vol. 59, No. 1

Exceptional Gemstone Acquisitions by the Kreis Family

Erin Hogarth

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Figure 1. A 155 g aquamarine crystal containing a liquid and gas bubble inclusion. The crystal measures 11.9 cm long and the inclusion 4.3 cm long. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Kreis Jewellery GmbH.
 
Figure 1. A 155 g aquamarine crystal containing a liquid and gas bubble inclusion. The crystal measures 11.9 cm long and the inclusion 4.3 cm long. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Kreis Jewellery GmbH.

Kreis Jewellery (Niederwörresbach, Germany) is known for master cutting expertise and distinctive jewelry design (see Spring 2022 GNI, pp. 86–87). At the GJX show, Stefan and Alexander Kreis showed us three recent gemstone acquisitions.

Two-Phase Inclusion in Aquamarine Crystal
 

First was a 155 g aquamarine crystal containing a two-phase liquid and gas inclusion measuring 4.3 cm long (figure 1; see video). The crystal was found in the 1960s in Marambaia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and had been part of a private collection before the Kreises obtained it in 2022.

“It would even be a cuttable crystal,” Alexander said. “Of course we would never touch it because of the specialty of the huge liquid inclusion. A liquid chamber that size in quartz would already be amazing,” he continued. “But having it in an aquamarine, which is totally intact—you have the complete termination. And look at the sheer size of that crystal.”

Marambaia was known for large quantities of aquamarine by 1900 and produced the 110.5 kg (244 lb), 552,500 ct Papamel, discovered in 1910, the largest known gem-quality aquamarine crystal. The crystal that was the basis for the Dom Pedro, the largest cut aquamarine, weighed around 45 kg (100 lb) and was also from Marambaia.

Figure 2. A 35.05 ct Sri Lankan cat’s-eye alexandrite in daylight (left) and incandescent light (right). Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Kreis Jewellery GmbH.
 
Figure 2. A 35.05 ct Sri Lankan cat’s-eye alexandrite in daylight (left) and incandescent light (right). Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Kreis Jewellery GmbH.

Stefan said they had received a 35.05 ct cat’s-eye alexandrite (figure 2) that morning. He noted the size, exceptionally sharp eye, and superb color change for Sri Lankan alexandrite, which typically has a weaker color change than material from Russia and Brazil. Alexander pointed out that cat’s-eyes are less common in alexandrite than in other chrysoberyl. “A cat’s-eye alexandrite with a strong color change like this one is extraordinary,” he said. “A size of 35 carats is what makes it outstanding.”

Figure 3. A 7.08 ct padparadscha sapphire. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Kreis Jewellery GmbH.
 
Figure 3. A 7.08 ct padparadscha sapphire. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Kreis Jewellery GmbH.

The Kreises also showed us a 7.08 ct padparadscha sapphire (figure 3). “The color mixture of this stone is a real padparadscha color,” Stefan said. Alexander added that a range of colors fall into the padparadscha category, but “this is the perfect color.”

The cat’s-eye alexandrite and padparadscha sapphire will undoubtedly inspire exquisite jewelry designs from Sonja and Vanessa Kreis. Sonja noted, “It is a very intuitive process in which we try to bring out a gem’s natural beauty in such a way that it blurs the boundaries between jewelry and art.”

Erin Hogarth is senior writer and editor in Learning Design and Development, and assistant editor for Gems & Gemology, at GIA in Carlsbad, California.