My husband, daughter and I attended the Jewellery Show at the
National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham (UK) the other day, and
purchased a number of lovely gemstones (whilst also drooling over all
the gorgeous jewellery being shown).
To my delight, when we returned home in the evening, my husband
produced a present which he’d secretly bought for me at the show - a
6Ct, 12x10mm pink oval Kunzite. It’s absolutely gorgeous, very
sparkly and completely eye-clean, but there are some inclusions
inside the stone which are only visible with my loupe. I like to
have some inclusions in a natural stone, as long as they don’t ruin
the appearance of the stone when viewed with the naked eye - this gem
fits the bill perfectly - the man did good! I’d like to know whether
there are any special considerations I need to take into account
when setting it. I’ve read that much Kunzite has colourless/white
tubular inclusions, but these look more flat than tube-like, and
they’re brown rather than white. They almost resemble rutile needles,
but are more wisp-like but very straight and parallel, almost like a
few bristles from a paint brush stood next to each other. One of them
appears to reach the girdle at one point. There are two small groups
of these “needles”, but I can’t quite make out whether each group
consists of a number of “needles”, or just one which has been
reflected due to the Portugese faceting on the pavilion. Does
anybody have any idea as to the identity of the inclusions?
Incidentally, I’m aware of the fading tendency in sunlight, so the
ring I make with it will only be worn when going to evening events/
special occasions not involving bright sunshine. Any advice
regarding the inclusions and setting would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Helen Hill
UK
Helen,
glad Darren came through! One note about kunzite: if the “nedles”-
be they rutile, calcium carbonate, or whatever, just like in
tourmaline, rutliated qquartz etc. if the inclusions are all the way
to the surface of the facet(s) you shouls try to insure that the
prongs, or beads (bead setting) do not get placed near the surface
much less right on it as though you were trying to cover the visible
needles up. I have broken a few stones by placing prongs near but not
straight on these inclusions to try and hide them- the stress from
tension 3 mm from the actual protrusion (for lack of a better term:
the rutile came all the way to the surface of a client’s stone) and
when I used the punch to tap the prongs over the stone’s pavillion it
broke below the contact and clean through. It was barely visible
looking aat the stone dead on but in opticon or at an angle it was
obvious- the client bought that kunzite at a gem show and said it was
a dim showroom after I pointed it out! ! I upon noticing the stone
when he brought it in to the studio had him sign a memo and the
jobbing envelope acknowledging the stone was “delivered in an
imperfect state” so there would be no surprise if something went
wrong- and it did in this case. It was an emerald cut stone, and is
intrinsically soft, I would think that rounds would have a slight
degree more tensegrity though. Bottom line - if the inclusions go all
the way to the surface try creative placemnt of any prong work to
avoid stresses near the point of contact. Bezels are relatively safe.
trying to seal it isn’t worth the time though it will provide a
barrier to rapid temperature changes…rer
RER,
Thanks for your setting advice regarding my Kunzite stone - and yes,
Darren’s getting quite good at picking stones - I’ve been educating
him. 
There’s only one inclusion which goes to the surface, and
that is at the girdle on one of the sides - probably a dodgy place
for it to be! I’ll be extra careful. The other inclusions appear to
be completely enclosed in the stone fortunately.
Thanks again,
Helen
UK