Topic
Lapidary
Lapidary entries on Zultpedia cover the cutting and polishing of color-change diaspore: the perfect cleavage on {010} that causes ~97% rough loss, master-cutter conventions for orienting the table to maximize color-change visibility while minimizing cleavage exposure, and the cut-grade evaluation rubric specific to Zultanite.
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Specimen
3.10-Carat Zultanite — Cushion Cut, Champagne-Phase Visible
A 3.10-carat cushion-cut Zultanite specimen displaying the full three-illuminant range: sage-green under daylight, champagne-gold under indoor incandescent, and pinkish-orange under candlelight. Cut from rough recovered in 2020 from the İlbir Mountains source.…
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Gem Article
Why Zultanite Is Rare — Single Source, Cleavage Loss, and Trace Chemistry
Zultanite's rarity has three structural causes: (1) single-source origin — gem-quality color-change diaspore comes from one mountain range in Türkiye, with no comparable secondary locality in commercial production; (2) lapidary loss —…
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Gem Article
The Lapidary of Zultanite — Why 97% of the Rough Is Lost in Cutting
Cutting Zultanite costs about 97% of the rough crystal's weight, according to the trademark holder Zultanite Gems LLC. The reason is mineralogical: gem-quality diaspore has perfect cleavage on the {010} plane, so…