4.86 ct. ‘Pink Fire’ Quartz with Covellite
Color: Colorless
Clarity: Slightly to Moderately Included
Origin: Brazil
Cut: Pear
Treatments: None
Measurements: 13.6 x 10.2 mm
This certainly has to be one of the most interesting (and requested!) inclusion gems found in the last decade. The material comes from a very limited find in Brazil that appears now to be, sadly, largely played out. In these stones, gem Quartz is included with platelet-type inclusions of the mineral Covellite. What is truly phenomenal about this particular combination is that the Covellite has a bright pink flash in reflected light - so, as you move the gem a strong pink flash moves across the surface. The photos show the gem with this effect, and then again, with the angle altered just enough for the pink to disappear. A very unusual and attractive natural effect. Not surprisingly, gems from this locality have been given the name of 'Pink Fire' Quartz - an apt trade name. A great deal of this material was cut into large stones - they show the effect nicely but wouldn’t necessarily work well in jewelry. Here we have one of the rare stones that are both quite dramatic and usable.