Milenyum Mining Cuts World’s Largest Csarite

(IDEX Online News) – Milenyum Mining Limited (MML) has discovered and cut what it says is the world’s largest-known faceted Csarite gemstone. Csarite is the trade name for the color-change gemstone diaspore, which is mined in the mountains of the Anatolia region of Turkey.

The 121.65-carat pear-shape gemstone was cut from recently recovered rough of approximately 430 grams and beats the previous largest-known faceted Csarite – an 88.49 carat pear-shape gemstone.  

“It was an exciting challenge to cut this stone,” said Rudi Wobito, Master Cutter of WOBITO, who did the actual faceting. “Csarite rough very rarely produces a fine gem of this size and caliber.  And it’s a very slow process to shape the rough and finally arrive at the finished gem.  We studied the material from all angles for weeks before deciding on the final shape.”

“Typical loss from rough Csarite is 98 percent, explained Murat Akgun, president of Milenyum Mining Limited. “We have recovered rough pieces three times the size of this one, and ended up with no faceted stones. We lost only 95 percent of the large specimen in cutting this gem, again setting it apart as a truly unique gem.”

Akgun said he expects the retail price of the gemstone, which exhibits a vivid color change, to be close to a million dollars.

MML is the world’s only source supply of Csarite.