Yellow Danburite Ring ¾ct+ Antique 19thC Russian Siberia RARE COLLECTOR’S GEM

Description

Antique Nineteenth Century Handcrafted Three-Quarter Carat (Plus) Genuine Natural Faceted Yellow Danburite.  Contemporary High Quality Sterling Silver Ring (Size 9 – Resizing Available).
ORIGIN:
Siberia, Russia.  Gemstone cut and faceted in or near 19th century Yekaterinburg, Russia.
SIZE
:  Diameter:  6mm.  Depth:  4mm.  All measurements approximate.
WEIGHT
:  0.84 carats.
NOTE
:  Resizing is available.  14kt solid gold setting is also available.
NOTE
:  If you would like only the gemstone, and not the setting, we can dismount the gemstone and offer you the gemstone without the setting.  Just let us know, and yes, we’ll discount the price by the cost of the setting.
DETAIL:
A very uncommon and fairly rare gemstone, though danburite deposits are known throughout many parts of the world, gemstone quality, transparent danburite is quite uncommon.  Well known to jewelers and gemologists for its clarity and sparkle, it is difficult to source and supplies are very limited, so it has never entered the mainstream retail jewelry industry.  However as you can see from this specimen, that is due only to the gemstone’s relative rarity, not for lack of beauty or brilliance.  Here’s a gorgeous, fiery pastel yellow danburite of very good quality.  Though perhaps not absolutely flawless (natural gemstones rarely are), it is clean and without discernible blemish to the eye.  The gemstone was hand crafted and faceted by a 19th century Russian artisan, part of an heritage renown for the production of the elaborate gemstones and jewelry of the Czars of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian Russia.  The faceted cut is a coarse precursor to what eventually became known in the industry as a “brilliant cut” round, the contemporary finish generally given to round diamonds.
Under magnification the gemstone shows the unmistakable characteristics of having been hand crafted.  The coarseness of the 19th century finish is considered appealing to most gemstone collectors, and is not considered a detriment, or detract from the value of a gemstone.  These characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, most serious collectors consider such gemstones more desirable, ipossessed of greater character and uniqueness when compared to today's cookie-cutter mass-produced machine-faceted gemstones.  Unlike today’s computer controlled machine produced gemstones, the cut and finish of a gemstone such as this is the legacy of an artisan who lived two centuries ago.  The setting is of contemporary origin.  It is a high quality setting manufactured by one of the USA’s leading semi-custom mount producers.  It is constructed of solid sterling silver.  We do have the ability to have the ring sent out for resizing if requested.  Additionally, if preferred, the mounting is also available in 14kt solid gold.
This gemstone has great luster and sparkle, and to the eye is completely transparent, but it is not absolutely flawless.  True, the blemishes it possesses are virtually invisible to the naked eye, and the gemstone can be characterized, to use trade jargon, as "eye clean".  To the view of the casual admirer the gemstone is seemingly without blemish.  However magnified five times over as it is here, you can see slight blemishes within the stone. Of course the same may said about almost any natural gemstone.  An absolutely flawless gemstone simply is not the rule in nature.  Most absolutely flawless gemstones will upon close examination be revealed to be synthetic, as perfect gemstones are the realm of laboratory-produced gemstones, not Mother Nature.  You might also notice under magnification occasional irregularities in the cut and finish.  Of course, these characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, you must also consider that two centuries ago the mining techniques even possible then, let alone in practice, did not allow the ultra deep mining operations which are so commonplace today.
Keep in mind two centuries ago mankind was more or less limited to surface deposits or near surface deposits of gemstones.  Higher quality gemstones which today are routinely mined from beneath hundreds of meters, even kilometers beneath the earth's surface, were simply inaccessible then.  For these reasons antique gemstones must be appreciated as antiques first, gemstones second.  The relatively superlative quality of contemporary gemstones routinely mined from deep beneath the earth's surface today were simply not accessible two centuries ago, or at least, only rarely so.  However for most, the unique nature and character of antique gemstones such as this more than makes up for miniscule blemishes and cutting imperfections which are inherent in antique, hand-cut gemstones, and which are by and large, are only visible under high magnification.
DANBURITE HISTORY:
Danburite is a fairly uncommon and rare gemstone.  Though danburite itself is a common mineral, transparent gemstone quality specimens are rare.  It’s likely that it was known in antiquity, but probably confused with another gemstone such as white topaz, quartz crystal, or even white beryl (“goshenite”) or in the case of pastel yellow danburite, quite possibly confused with citrine.  Danburite is usually colorless, like quartz crystal or white topaz, but some deposits have produced specimens in shades of pink, yellow, orange, and brown.  Danburite is well known in the jewelry trade known for its excellent transparency and clarity.  Since it has a reasonably high refractive index (6.30 to 6.36), in the same range as topaz or tourmaline, the material produces facetable gemstones of excellent quality and sparkle.  Danburite generally phosphoresces, showing a light blue to blue-green color under ultraviolet light.  However since danburite is fairly rare and availability limited and sourcing difficult, it has never become a mainstream gemstone such as topaz, amethyst, emerald, sapphire, ruby, etc.  Though it is well known to most jewelers, few stock it as it is quite difficult to source.
When you consider the number of countries which were part of the Classical Mediterranean, in which danburite has been discovered, it seems inevitable that it was used at some point in antiquity.  Deposits of danburite (albeit many of them small) have been discovered in England, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Romania, Russia, Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Burma, Ceylon, China, Nepal, and Vietnam.  Outside of those regions within the classical world (Europe, the Near and Far East), danburite has also been discovered in Mexico, Madagascar, Namibia, Tanzania, Japan, Australia, Bolivia,Canada, and the USA.  In fact danburite is named for Danbury, Connecticut (in the United States) where it was first “discovered” in 1839 by Charles Shephard.  The Danbury Museum & Historical Society explains that danburite was, “common all over the world, but it hadn't been classified or named until Charles Shepard found it”.  Shepard was an eminent American mineralogist who was for many years professor of natural history at Amherst College.
Throughout the history of the ancient world, gemstones were believed capable of curing illness, possessed of valuable metaphysical properties, and to provide protection.  Found in Egypt dated 1500 B. C., the "Papyrus Ebers" offered one of most complete therapeutic manuscripts containing prescriptions using gemstones and minerals.  Gemstones were not only valued for their medicinal and protective properties, but also for educational and spiritual enhancement.  Under what name danburite crystals may have been known in the ancient world is indeterminable.  Danburite was likely misidentified as quartz crystal, or colorless topaz or beryl, so history is silent as to the uses of danburite crystals.  However it is possible that the beliefs which modern practitioners hold pertaining to danburite crystals may reflect ancient beliefs.  It is common for such beliefs to be carried forward in folklore.  In Western Europe and America present-day healers use danburite to treat diseases of certain organs like the liver and gall bladder.  It is also believed to be useful in treating allergies, infertility, muscular and skeletal disorders, and tumors; to aid in tissue regeneration and ease pregnancies; and lastly to detoxify the body.
On the metaphysical plane, wearing danburite is said to strengthen the wearer’s “life force”, filling the wearer’s body, mind, and spirit (and relationships) with “white light”, cleansing and purifying the wearer, bringing about truth, honesty, happiness, and open receptivity to mind and spirit.  It is believed to quicken the intellect, strengthen the nervous system, and enhance awareness, allowing thoughts and energy to flow more freely.  Danburite is also believed to encourage a friendly social atmosphere, to ease the difficulties of times of extreme personal changes and/or stress.  It is also believed to heal old emotional wounds, clear past karma, and for the terminally ill, to “ease the transition of leaving the physical human form”.  Used in meditation and trances, danburite is believed to channel information from spiritual worlds during meditation, increase the wearer’s psychic abilities, and to bring visitations by “angels and other-worldly beings”, especially during dreams.
SHIPPING & RETURNS/REFUNDS
: Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. All of our shipments are fully insured against loss, and our shipping rates include the cost of this coverage (through stamps.com, Shipsaver.com, the USPS, UPS, or Fed-Ex). International tracking is provided free by the USPS for certain countries, other countries are at additional cost.
ADDITIONAL PURCHASES
do receive a
VERY LARGE
discount, typically about per item so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with.
If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked 30-day return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price; 1) less our original shipping/insurance costs, 2) less non-refundable PayPal/eBay payment processing fees. Please note that PayPal does NOT refund fees. Even if you “accidentally” purchase something and then cancel the purchase before it is shipped, PayPal will not refund their fees. So all refunds for any reason, without exception, do not include PayPal/eBay payment processing fees (typically between 3% and 5%) and shipping/insurance costs (if any). If you’re unhappy with PayPal and eBay’s “no fee refund” policy, and we are EXTREMELY unhappy, please voice your displeasure by contacting PayPal and/or eBay. We have no ability to influence, modify or waive PayPal or eBay policies.
ABOUT US
: We travel to Russia each year seeking antique gemstones and jewelry from one of the globe’s most prolific gemstone producing and cutting centers, the area between Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, Russia.  From all corners of Siberia, as well as from India, Ceylon, Burma and Siam, gemstones have for centuries gone to Yekaterinburg where they have been cut and incorporated into the fabulous jewelry for which the Czars and the royal families of Europe were famous for. My wife grew up and received a university education in the Southern Urals of Russia, just a few hours away from the mountains of Siberia, where alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced.  Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, antique gemstones are commonly dismounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset.
Before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, we try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them centuries old.  We believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence.  That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times.  Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting.  Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost.  But if you agree with us that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today.
Our interest in the fabulous history of Russian gemstones and the fabulous jewelry of the Czar’s led to further education and contacts in India, Ceylon, and Siam, other ancient centers of gemstone production and finishing.  We have a number of “helpers” (family members, friends, and colleagues) in Russia and in India who act as eyes and ears for us year-round, and in reciprocity we donate a portion of our revenues to support educational institutions in Russia and India.  Occasionally while in Russia, India, Siam, and Ceylon we will also find such good buys on unique contemporary gemstones and jewelry that we will purchase a few pieces to offer to our customers here in America.  These are always offered clearly labeled as contemporary, and not antiques – just to avoid confusion.  We can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from us in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill.  When you purchase from us, you can count on quick shipping and careful, secure packaging.  We would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me.  There is a fee for mailing under separate cover.  Please see our
"ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."