“Zultanite is the name used for a particular form of Turkish diaspore.”
The Turkish deposit remains the world’s only source of Zultanite (colour-change, gem quality diaspore) and is recovered using only environmentally safe mining techniques.
Zultanite was named in honour of The Ottoman Sultans that ruled a vast empire for many centuries. The GIA classifies Zultanite as a Type II transparent gemstone. Zultanite almost always contains inclusions.
Inclusions are a fascinating hallmark of authenticity, recording a gem’s natural relationship with the earth. Zultanite is 100% natural with no heat treatment, radiation, fillers or other enhancements.
Many of the durability concerns with other gems are due to the treatments received after mining and cutting.
Zultanite is very durable for its hardness ( 6.5-7.0 Mohs scale).
Because of the high refractive index of 1.7 and consistently excellent cutting, Zultanite is always very brilliant and dispersive. Even in low light, Zultanite will sparkle, and in more intense light, it will show many rainbow colours from the high dispersion.
In addition to the different colours seen through dispersion and pleochroism, Zultanite is a colour-change gemstone. In daylight, the gem is a beautiful kiwi to lime green. When moving to the low inside or candlelight, Zultanite will slowly change from champagne to cinnamon, peach and sometimes amber.
These colours can usually be observed using 6500K fluorescent for daylight and 2500K incandescent clear bulbs or decorative tube lighting for candlelight.
It is more difficult to see multiple colours in smaller stones, and while this may disappoint people who have seen larger gems, one can still observe the incredible brilliance and dispersion in any light.
Actually, mounting these smaller gems improves their appearance, and all of the beauty of Zultanite is best seen when the gemstone is worn in real life, so the gem is moved about subtly changing colours and exploding with light.
Zultanite over 2.5 carats are considered rare and show dramatic colour change.
Henry Thomson
Tel: +27 72 657 2001
Email: gems@zultanite.co.za