Corundum (variety Sapphire), Ratnapura, Sri Lanka

The island of gems, Sri Lanka, has yielded an astounding treasure trove of sapphires for hundreds of years. Most are found in alluvial (river and stream) gravels having been liberated from their host rocks by relentless tropical rains. Occasionally we get to see sapphires still in their host rock which is a rare thing. This is somewhat personal to me as my Bachelor's thesis project, in university, was studying the host rocks at the Yogo Gulch sapphire deposit in Montana. Sri Lanka's rocks are much different but yield similar gems. In this case we have a LARGE, bi-pyramidal corundum crystal in its host rock. The blue-gray corundum crystal (variety sapphire) is 9 cm long! Note the fractures on the specimen appear natural with no evidence of repairs under inspection with a black light. The specimen stands proudly on its own without any aids. This piece is from Rob Belcher's collection. From: Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Dimensions: 9 x 5 x 9 cm