Atacamite

Gemstone Quality Standard

About Atacamite

Atacamite is a rare secondary copper mineral formed through the oxidation of other copper minerals, especially in arid, saline conditions.
It was first described for deposits in the Atacama Desert of Chile in 1802.

Atacamite crystals are bright green, or dark emerald-green to blackish green

Rarity

Atacamite is a rare mineral. Crystal finds have been reported from 6 locations in Peru. All of them are located in southern Peru from Ica to the border with Chile. This part of the Peruvian desert is the northern limit of the Atacama desert.

Mina Justa deposit, Marcona District, Nazca Province, Ica
San Luis Alta deposit, Rio Grande district, Condesuyos Province, Arequipa
Chapi copper mines, La Capilla District, General Sánchez Cerro Province, Moquegua
Bahai de Ite tailings pile, Jorge Basadre Province, Tacna
San Pedro Canzas mine, Yauca del Rosario District, Ica Province, Ica
Lily Mine, Humay District, Pisco Province, Ica

Non-crystalized cutable Atacamite was found in only one mine in the Ica area.

Color

Non-crystalized Atacamite is dark green/blueish

Jewelry-grade material

Small patches of blue and dark green material in white quartz matrix with brown impurities.

Premium jewelry-grade material

A big part of the material consists of blue and dark green material with a smaller part of milky quartz, no brown impurities

Polishable

Atacamite in quartz is a hard stone with little tendency to chip. it can be polished to a beautifull glass-finish.

Availability

Cuttable Atacamite is very rare in Peru. Gemrock has a very small amount of a few kilos of jewelry-grade and even fewer kilos of premium jewelry-grade material. We do not sell our rough rock. We offer custom cabochon cutting for small editions of jewelrs and individual pieces. We sell our material in our own jewelery.

You can buy our finished top-quality cabochons for jewelry makers.

National and international shipping from our US-based warehouse.

Buy your Atacamite Cabochons here

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Cutting Quality

Top-cutting-quality is characterized by:

a polished backside
a sharp unchipped edge between the backside and the bezel
a very straight and even highly polished bezel
a sharp unchipped edge between the bezel and the dome
a well-shaped dome, not showing any deformation
Top-quality polish

Pricing

Adequate pricing must take into account the cost factors to obtain top-quality cabochons:

Difficult acquisition of the very rare material.
A usual material loss of approximately 90 % of the selected material during the cutting and shaping process.
The level of experience required by a cutter to produce a flawlessly shaped and highly polished cabochon.

You can buy our finished top-quality cabochons for jewelry makers.

National and international shipping from our US-based warehouse.

Buy your Atacamite Cabochons here

Jewelry-Grade Material:

Small patches of blue and dark green material in white quartz matrix with brown impurities.

Cutting Quality:

Straight bezel (minor irregularities possible), 3 mm high
Perfect dome (3-5 mm high)
Edges between bezel and dome, as well as bezel and backside: sharp and crispy, minor chips on lower edge possible
Backside flat at 280 grit, unpolished

Pricing:

Recommended Retail Price (A): 0.90 USD per carat

Jewelry Grade Color:

A big part of the material consists of blue and dark green material with a smaller part of milky quartz, no brown impurities

Cutting Quality:

Straight bezel, 3 mm high
Flat and perfect dome (3 mm high)
Edges between bezel and dome, as well as bezel and backside: sharp and crispy, minor chips on lower edge possible but very rare.
Backside flat, at 280 grit

Additionall quality (AA+): polished backside to 3000 grit

Pricing:

Recommended Retail Price (AA): 1.00 USD per carat

AA+: 1.09 USD/c

Jewelry Grade Color:

A big part of the material consists of blue and dark green material with a smaller part of milky quartz, no brown impurities.

Cutting Quality:

Only cut by our best master cutters
Straight bezel, 3 mm high
Flat and perfect dome (1-3 mm high)
The edges between the bezel and dome, as well as the bezel and backside, are sharp and crispy, with no chips on the lower edge.

Additional quality (AAA+): Backside polished to 3000 grit

Pricing:

Recommended Retail Price (AAA): 1.5 USD per carat

AAA+: 1.59 USD/c

To the best of our knowledge, this material is only available from Gemrock Peru.

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