At the JOGS Gem & Jewelry and 22nd Street Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry shows, Genuine Gems & Jewellery (Bangkok) offered “gold sheen” sapphire from eastern Kenya in a striking range of colors and effects. This translucent material is known for exhibiting an attractive golden sheen, a result of oriented platelets and needles of titanium and iron oxides including hematite, ilmenite, and magnetite (T.N. Bui et al., “From exsolution to ‘gold sheen’: A new variety of corundum,” Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 34, No. 8, 2015, pp. 678–691). Additionally, some stones displayed distinct asterism, while others had visible bands of color zoning (figure 1). The stones exhibited single or multiple bodycolors, including yellow, blue, green, brown, and gold (figure 2). This material was untreated and cut primarily into cabochons and checkerboard patterns to optimize its optical effects. Stones from less than a carat to hundreds of carats were available.
In 2009, Tanzim Khan Malik, owner of Genuine Gems & Jewellery, was approached by a longtime Kenyan dealer regarding unusual rough stones found on the ground near Kenya’s eastern border with Somalia. The report of the material intrigued Malik, who acquired a small parcel for examination. The initial parcel of this corundum was not gem-quality. While the fragile material lacked stability for faceting and exhibited a layered internal structure, it showed a distinct golden shimmer that excited Malik. This led him to fund a systematic exploration with controlled digging to discover the corundum-bearing seam. The location was kept classified to protect the mine and its operation. This work, executed by local miners, ultimately uncovered the seam bearing gem-quality sapphire, and extraction continued until 2014. During that period, Malik, who owned the mine’s entire production, amassed approximately 25 tons of rough material.
When the first gem-quality material emerged from the mine, Malik focused on cutting this unique sapphire to optimize its beauty. With its color variety, banded quality, and striking gold sheen, he saw an opportunity to bring a brand-new sapphire variety to market and named the material “gold sheen” sapphire. Owning a fabrication facility, Malik has each stone cut to maximize its optical characteristics and hence its value. As the sole global supplier of this material, he has marketed gold sheen sapphire as a luxury stone. Malik described his customers as mainly high-end designers, investment buyers, and gem collectors, mentioning a variety of high-end jewelry houses that have incorporated the shimmery stone in one-of-a-kind pieces. The material has the strongest sales in the United States, followed by Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Monaco.
When asked about a glittery brown material from Madagascar being marketed in Tucson as gold sheen or golden sheen sapphire, Malik cautioned that the stones from Madagascar lack the color variety, oriented banding, or golden shimmer characteristic of the Kenyan material and are being deceptively sold under his product’s name.
Jennifer Stone-Sundberg is senior technical editor for Gems & Gemology at GIA in Carlsbad, California.
At the JOGS Gem & Jewelry and 22nd Street Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry shows, Genuine Gems & Jewellery (Bangkok) offered “gold sheen” sapphire from eastern Kenya in a striking range of colors and effects. This translucent material is known for exhibiting an attractive golden sheen, a result of oriented platelets and needles of titanium and iron oxides including hematite, ilmenite, and magnetite (T.N. Bui et al., “From exsolution to ‘gold sheen’: A new variety of corundum,” Journal of Gemmology, Vol. 34, No. 8, 2015, pp. 678–691). Additionally, some stones displayed distinct asterism, while others had visible bands of color zoning (figure 1). The stones exhibited single or multiple bodycolors, including yellow, blue, green, brown, and gold (figure 2). This material was untreated and cut primarily into cabochons and checkerboard patterns to optimize its optical effects. Stones from less than a carat to hundreds of carats were available.
In 2009, Tanzim Khan Malik, owner of Genuine Gems & Jewellery, was approached by a longtime Kenyan dealer regarding unusual rough stones found on the ground near Kenya’s eastern border with Somalia. The report of the material intrigued Malik, who acquired a small parcel for examination. The initial parcel of this corundum was not gem-quality. While the fragile material lacked stability for faceting and exhibited a layered internal structure, it showed a distinct golden shimmer that excited Malik. This led him to fund a systematic exploration with controlled digging to discover the corundum-bearing seam. The location was kept classified to protect the mine and its operation. This work, executed by local miners, ultimately uncovered the seam bearing gem-quality sapphire, and extraction continued until 2014. During that period, Malik, who owned the mine’s entire production, amassed approximately 25 tons of rough material.
When the first gem-quality material emerged from the mine, Malik focused on cutting this unique sapphire to optimize its beauty. With its color variety, banded quality, and striking gold sheen, he saw an opportunity to bring a brand-new sapphire variety to market and named the material “gold sheen” sapphire. Owning a fabrication facility, Malik has each stone cut to maximize its optical characteristics and hence its value. As the sole global supplier of this material, he has marketed gold sheen sapphire as a luxury stone. Malik described his customers as mainly high-end designers, investment buyers, and gem collectors, mentioning a variety of high-end jewelry houses that have incorporated the shimmery stone in one-of-a-kind pieces. The material has the strongest sales in the United States, followed by Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Monaco.
When asked about a glittery brown material from Madagascar being marketed in Tucson as gold sheen or golden sheen sapphire, Malik cautioned that the stones from Madagascar lack the color variety, oriented banding, or golden shimmer characteristic of the Kenyan material and are being deceptively sold under his product’s name.
Jennifer Stone-Sundberg is senior technical editor for Gems & Gemology at GIA in Carlsbad, California.
