「請尊重著作權，載明來處分享，禁止複製。」
剛玉(Corundum)家族就是包括硬度9的藍寶石(Sapphire)及紅寶石(Ruby)。
這是一個極具價值，且有深遠歷史的高階寶石家族，所以多數人都對他們很熟悉，在踏進寶石的世界裡，除了鑽石，最先知曉的大概就是紅、藍寶石。
此篇要介紹剛玉家族裡，極少人知道的新成員～「金光藍寶石」(Gold Sheen Corundum)。
這是一種新興寶石，於2009年才在肯亞被首次發現。
而這位於肯亞的寶石礦是截至目前為止，世界上的單一礦區。但很遺憾，已於2012年被開採完畢。
所以金光藍寶石目前處於已絕礦中，而這也是它較不為人所知的原因。
這個礦區的藍寶石與一般的藍寶石一樣擁有藍、黃等體色，但其中最特別，也是世界絕無僅有的，就是它可發出金、黃銅及銅三個色調，且在較強的光線或太陽光下會反射出閃耀的金光。而它的名字金光藍寶石（Gold Sheen sapphire）也是因此而命名。
它在產區肯亞又名Zawadi sapphire，Zawadi是肯亞方言斯瓦希里語，意思是「禮物」，當地人覺得這灑金的寶石是上天恩賜的禮物。（天神禮讚）
金光藍寶石因內含鈦鐵礦和赤鐵礦包體，而能呈現閃耀金光，這也是其它藍寶石所沒有，而它的特殊之處。
據說當時開採了約25萬噸，但幾乎都是無法切割的石料，僅能做工業用，可做為珠寶切磨的非常稀少，所以在當時，這個藍寶石礦並未受到重視。
但在陸續有人將它送GIA、GRS等知名鑑定所檢測後，發現它居然是新興的藍寶石時，它就已絕礦了。（GIA及GRS皆有發表它的期刊）
也因此在珠寶市場裡，幾乎不會看到金光藍寶石在市面流通。
而且它的售價極不穩定，這是因為鑽石有公盤，但寶石只有供需的問題。
不過這世上多的是有錢又任性的人，就聽聞有人開價每克拉200美金以上，但越大的克拉數，售價可能呈現直線上升的跳躍成長。
目前該寶石已有極少量被運用於高級珠寶的設計，例如這條18K金的護身符，採用了8的招財與無限的設計理念。
但多數有能力的藏家，對於這種已絕礦的寶石，都是不願意輕易釋出的。
那些幸運能擁有又售出的藏家，是因為不知道它的價值，及已絕礦的命運。我想當時便宜售出的賣家，現在應該都是扼腕嘆息的。
而這也是珠寶市場裡，新興寶石投資的迷人之處。
其實在地球資源有限的前提下，只要是「天然」「無處理」「珠寶級」的寶石，就一定是看漲的。多一點學習，知識就是財富～與諸君分享之。
下文寫於我的奇摩拍賣，現在補上。
Aptly named Zawadi Sapphire (‘zawadi’ is a Swahili word meaning ‘gift’ from the earth), this gem is also known as Golden Sheen Sapphire. Swahili is one of the languages spoken in Kenya. Zawadi Sapphire was named by Jeffery Bergman SSEF BGC, esteemed gemologist and gem trader, in December 2014, in homage to its origin, rarity and beauty.
Relatively unknown, Zawadi Sapphire is a beautiful, opaque gemstone characterized by an attractive bronze, golden sheen that shimmers across the gem’s dark chocolate body color. Visually unique, Zawadi Sapphire has an appearance somewhat reminiscent of the rare Black Star Sapphire from Bang Kha Cha in Thailand’s Chanthaburi Province. The rare golden sheen of Zawadi Sapphire has a medium saturation and deep tone, and is caused by inclusions of Hematite and Rutile.
Due the opacity of Zawadi Sapphire, a superior polish that maximizes the gems’ luster is absolutely critical. It took over one and a half years to develop the lapidary for Zawadi Sapphire, which required trial and error to correctly orientate and polish the crystals.
Tanzim Khan, a gemstone trader with 25 years’ experience, is the person responsible for bringing Zawadi Sapphire to the marketplace. Specializing in sourcing rough gemstones direct from mines in Africa, he immediately saw the gem’s full potential. Attracted to Zawadi Sapphire’s beautiful shimmering effect, its natural provenance, and ability to retain beauty in a variety of light sources, Tanzim and the mine owner have worked hard to establish this stunning new Sapphire.
The birthstone for September, Sapphire is a truly mesmerizing gemstone with a rich history, potent symbolism, and a popularity spanning over 2,500 years. Ruby and Sapphire are color varieties of the mineral Corundum (crystalline aluminum oxide), which derives its name from the Sanskrit word for Rubies and Sapphires, ‘kuruvinda’. Trace amounts of elements such as chromium, iron and titanium as well as color centers are responsible for producing Corundum’s rainbow of colors.
Rarity
Only discovered in 2010, Zawadi Sapphire is mined in Kenya close to the border with Somalia. The exact mine location remains a closely guarded secret. The mine is ostensibly depleted, yielding no good quality rough in almost two years. Zawadi Sapphire has mainly appeared free size, making calibrated gems suitable for jewelry exceedingly rare.
Most mining occurred in early 2013 and the last production of several hundred kilos yielded only two to three percent of material displaying the coveted golden sheen effect. While individual gems of up to 100 carats have been cut, most Zawadi Sapphire ranges from 0.5 to 10 carats.
With close to 99 percent of all Corundum (Ruby and Sapphire) enhanced or treated, Zawadi Sapphire’s most important attribute, aside from its unique beauty, is the fact that it is a totally natural gemstone not treated or enhanced in anyway.
Durability & Care
One of the world’s hardest gemstones (Mohs’ Hardness: 9), Zawadi Sapphire is an excellent choice for everyday jewelry. But Zawadi Sapphire should always be stored carefully to avoid scuffs and scratches. Clean with gentle soap and lukewarm water, scrubbing behind the gem with a very soft toothbrush as necessary. After cleaning, pat dry with a soft towel or chamois cloth.
GIA期刊對於「金光藍寶石」的鑑定文章：
six-rayed asterism. Under the micro- scope, negative crystals in a plane and healed fissures were found in the transparent area; densely packed nee- dle-like inclusions, some crystals, and stained fissures were seen in the opaque area . In addition to the microscopic observations, ad- vanced testing of the yellow part re- vealed that this specimen was a natural corundum. The metallic ap- pearance and asterism were caused by the strong reflection from the dense needle-like inclusions ,some of which were flat. These nee- dles were identified as hematite and il- menite by Raman spectroscopy. The slightly elevated SG of this specimen might have been caused by the abun- dance of these inclusions, since the SGs of both hematite and ilmenite are higher than that of corundum.
As previously documented (e.g. T.N. Bui et al., “From exsolution to ‘gold sheen’: A new variety of corun- dum,” Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 34, No. 8, 2015, pp. 678–691; N. Narudeesombat et al., “Golden sheen and non-sheen sapphires from Kenya,” Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand, July-August 2016, pp. 282– 288; Winter 2016 Lab Notes, pp. 413– 414), sapphires with golden shimmer caused by hematite needles are known as “golden sheen” or “Za- wadi” sapphires in the trade. As with rutile needles in common star sap-
phires, hematite needles intersecting at 60 degrees can cause six-rayed as- terism. Golden sheen sapphires some- times have densely included parts, but such a distinct zoning of transpar- ent and densely included parts has not been documented. This unique ap- pearance may indicate a certain crys- tallizing condition of sapphires.
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