.46 Cts of Red Helenite in a Princess Cut5 mm, Red Helenite-princess
Bright red color, nice cut, a super stone. Man-made Mt St Helens Dealer Offering Item for Sale: New Directions Helenite Specifications: - Gem Species: SILICATE
- Hardness: 5
- Density: 2.4
- RI: 1.49
Size: 5 (D) mmCut: princessCalibrated Gemstone: Yes Carat Weight: 0.6000 Carats AveGrade: AAA-Clarity Breakdown: Internally flawless, meaning that the stone was examined under a microscope of at least 40x magnification and no inclusions were seen.Cutting Breakdown: Brilliance with a precision cut. Stone has equal and symmetrical facting with proper cutting angles "critical angle"Carat Breakdown: Average in Carat Weight for this size stone (+/- 5%)Photo Clarity Breakdown: Color is Excellent, Image is Sharp but doesn't show clear depth,, & Background is Close to True.Photo shows Multiple views of gemstones.Pricing based on single gemstone.Note: Photo shows cotton fiber over gemstone in some or all of the views… Note: Photo taken with cotton fibers background.Helenite. A term given to a new gem making its way onto today's market place. This is sometimes called Mt. St. Helens Obsidianite, Mt. St. Helens emerald, and more recently under the cute name; Gaia Stone after the mythological Earth Goddess or Earth Spirit found in some Eastern and Asian religions. In its natural form it is either in many color depending upon the mixture of chemicals found in Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash. It was first discover by workers attempting so salvage destroyed logging equipment buried by the volcanic eruption of Mt. St. Helen. Workers noticed as they cut the metal away, the ash was melting from the heat of their torches into glass like globs. Soon a rush was on by jewelers and other interested persons to re-create this event in more sterile environments, and thus Helenite was born. It is often marketed as rare and formed as a result of the eruption. Some claim it is a gem made from the volcanic ash, but the fact is, Helenite is not a gem at all. Helenite is nothing more than glass.
Unlike glass, Helenite has no basis for true gemstone claim. Glass is made from silicate quartz, both natural and synthetic, but unlike quartz which is technically a gem, glass does not qualify as a gem despite its origin from a gemstone. Glass cools far to quickly to reform all the intricate molecular structure needed to become a gem once more. Helenite is no different. It does not come from a gem or a gem source. It comes only from an artifically created heat source placed beneath or directly onto volcanic ash made up of various glass particles such as obsidian naturally formed by volcanic heat and other minerals found within the ash. Obsidian is one of the primary ingredients of Helenite, and is actually a type of volcanic glass formed by the heat of the volcano, but Helenite does not qualify as an obsidian since the volcano did not create it. Like, quartz, once obsidian crystals are melted, they cool far too fast to reform their natural molecular structure and it becomes something totally different. In short, it becomes just another man-made glass.
Helenite is not rare. There are trillions of cubic tons of this volcanic ash and mud available to create this material. A five gallon bucket full of ash will make many thousands of carets of this so-called gem. Anyone with a heat source can create it, and many thousands of pounds of it has been made in back-yard smelters and professionally set up laboratories. It is there for the taking and making. It is sought after by Jewelers because it makes a very inexpensive substitute for emeralds, ruby's, and garnets. It is sold in chunks as a tourist item. It is easily cut, shaped, and polished. It looks good to the eye, and for the professional jewelry industry it is easy on the pocket book with substantial returns by portraying it as a volcanic gem. We grade each gemstone for Color, Clarity, cut, and Carat weight. We try to define / analysis each gemstone and photo taken (all photo are of the gemstone itself not a general stone photo) to help you make a better decision. These photos are intended to provide you with an accurate visual representation of the gem.Photo's taken with a macro lens, which may make the gemstone look larger in some views..Combining of views also may make gemstone look different sizes.Click on the photo to enlarge photo for better detail – check out the mult views of the gemstones..
