Chrysocolla
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About Chrysocolla
Chrysocolla is one of the Peruvian flagship minerals for jewelry and decor products. It is a minor ore of copper that forms in the superficial oxidation zones of copper ore bodies and is mined in the Peruvian desert and on the western slopes of the Andes where artisan miners search for the greenish coloration in the desert sand indicating the presence of chrysocolla. By then digging into the depth and following the chrysocolla veins miners might then eventually find copper bodies. There is, however, a number of miners being specialized on chrysocolla mining itself.
Chrysocolla itself has a cyan (blue-green) color. The interesting fact however is, that chrysocolla veins are in fact never pure chrysocolla but rather consist of a mixture of this mineral with a number of others. We find it mixed mostly with:
- Cuprite – an oxide mineral composed of copper oxide Cu2O, and is a minor ore of copper. It is dark red to cochineal red, sometimes almost black.
- Malachite – a green copper carbonate hydroxide mineral.
- Tenorite – dull grey-black.
- Quartz – The white milk quartz or milky quartz is the most common variety of crystalline quartz.
- Lemonite – yellow
- Azurite – a soft, deep-blue copper mineral
Even if a material is called “Chrysocolla”, most likely the real Chrysocolla mineral itself only makes up for a small percentage within the mix of minerals.
Generally spoken: The higher the concentration of real Chrysocolla in the mixed vein (means the more uniform cyan its color) the more costly is the rough rock. Pure cyan-coloured chrysocolla pieces are generally used for jewelry only because they are small and very expensive.
Also, the more chrysocolla is in the mix, the harder it is to cut as the chrysocolla itself is very soft and easily breaks and chips.
Important Notice:
Currently, Peru is in a Chrysocolla Crisis. Because of the war in Ukraine and other global effects, the copper price has risen so sharply that miners do not any longer extract chrysocolla. Actually, they rather prefer to grind chrysocolla and sell it for copper extraction. This results in Chrysocolla having become very hard and expensive to source. Gemrocks reserves of Chrysocolla in stock are nearly depleted and we currently only have rough rock for small products. We recommend buying peruvian Quantum Cuatro as an alternative to chrysocolla.
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Gemrock Peru permanently acquires different variations of chrysocolla from different veins. We also will provide you with in-depth advice on each mineral combination and for what kind of product it can be used best.
Folowing are some chrysocolla types we are having on stock:
Chrysocolla crystals
Chrysocolla forms botryoidal crystals. We are providing Chrysocolla crystals in specimen flats and as crystal surfaces for gem cutters.
A famous variety are the Quartz Crystals from Tentadora Mine, which are overgrown with Malachite and Chrysocolla crystals.
Classic Chrysocolla
This is the classic mix of chrysocolla, malachite, tenorite, and a little cuprite, that was mined for many years in the Peruvian desert near Nazca city. It is well known and many clients wish to acquire it. However, sadly there are not many mines anymore producing this material as most of them have reached the copper layer. The small amounts of this chrysocolla type, that are available, have become so expensive that the material can not be used for spheres or other products anymore and still deliver a commercially viable product.
We are still stocking some 50 kilos for our own jewelry production and are able to sell high-quality rough and slabs to gem cutters. We also can still produce cabochons and worry stones from this stock.
Chrysocolla type: Water & Wine®
This amazing mix with a very blue chrysocolla and a wine-red matrix is the new chrysocolla which still does exist in considerable amounts and can be acquired for a reasonable price as rough material in order to be used for bigger decor pieces like spheres, hearts, and other objects.
We are currently only offering small objects like worry stones, cabochons, or our own jewelry made from this chrysocolla type.
Chrysocolla type: Turquoise
Due to the mixture with lime, this chrysocolla type looks very similar to turquoise. However, the high content of lime makes this type of chrysocolla nearly impossible to polish.
We at Gemrock Peru only work with high-quality materials. From a total of 8 tons of this material, we hand selected 100 kilos of consistent and polishable material and rejected the rest. From this amount, we have only a few kilos left and therefore offer this material only for cabochons or jewelry.
Chrysocolla type: Mother Earth®
This is a type of boulder chrysocolla consisting of fine and pure chrysocolla veins in brown rock material featuring a birds-view over a brown-green landscape with blue lakes and rivers. An amazing material for cabs and jewelry. We are left with just a few kilos of this material in our stock and therefore currently offer this material only for cabochons or in jewelry.
Peruvian Cuantum Cuatro
This is quartz mixed with chrysocolla and malachite. This vein was recently discovered in 2018 and still has a reasonable reserve to be exploited and replace classic Chrysocolla. There are big enough pieces available for any type of product.
However rough rock clients may be advised that this material is very difficult to cut, has a relatively high rate of breakage, and requires some stabilization.
We at Gemrock Peru have learned to master this material and are happy to offer you finished products. In order to learn more, click here:
Rarity
Even though it occurs in Europe, Lybia, Egypt, and Mexico, the largest deposits are in Peru. It is not a rare stone.
Color
Angelite is a glacier-blue or lilac-blue-colored stone.
Color intensity:
In the Angelite mines, one can buy a whitish, pale blue version of Angelite at a cheaper price. This pale material is not adequate for jewelry. Jewelry-grade Angelite displays a more intense blue and can be acquired from mines at a higher price.
Uniformity of color:
Angelite generally displays a uniform coloration with very few color shades.
Impurities
Angelite shows white and brown impurities. White impurities are gypsum. Gypsum impurities appear as tiny white flecks or as massive lines of gypsum penetrating the stone along microcracks in the material. Most likely those cracks opened the way for water to penetrate the stone, which hydrated the cracks and initiated the Angelites’ deterioration into gypsum along those cracks.
The reddish-brown impurities penetrate a great part of the Angelite volume in a similar pattern to the gypsum lines.
Gypsum lines and brownish impurities render more than 75 % of the Angelite unsuitable for jewelry.
Angelite with just a few tiny white gypsum flecks may be used for economy jewelry at a lower price level. However, less than 20 percent of the Angelite rough rock material acquired in the mine is free of impurities and suitable for top-quality jewelry.
In order to obtain this material the nodes must be cut open and all unsuitable material must be cut away. In order to obtain 1 kilo of jewelry-grade material we are buying 5 kilos of rough rock and discard 4 kilos on average.
Polishable
When polishing Angelite Gemrock cutters do NOT follow the regular steps of increasingly finer diamond wheels from 600 to 3000 grit. Maximum polish can be obtained by polishing to 1200 grit and then adding a different polishing method, developed by us, which makes a by far superior polished surface pop out.
Cutting Quality
Challenges:
Angelite is a very soft material. Cutting it requires the application of very little pressure against the shaping and polishing wheels. Cutting small cabs from this soft material becomes more difficult the smaller the required cab is. Inexperienced cutters will most likely deform the cab.
Advantages:
Angelite does not tend to break or chip. Experienced cutters therefore can obtain very sharp unchipped edges between the backside and bezel as well as between the bezel and dome.
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
Be aware of wrongfull quality grading
It’s commonplace in the crystal industry to cut cheap cabochons from any kind of Angelite without applying any kind of grading for high-quality material. Frecuently you can find cabochons made from completely unsuitable material full of brown and white impurities. Unscrupulous dealers take advantage of the lack of knowledge of crystal shops, jewelers, and final clients and market such low-grade and even trashy material as Tripple A top-grade material.
Pricing
Adequate pricing must take into account the cost factors to obtain top-quality cabochons:
- Acquisition of top-grade Angelite with strong color in the mine.
- Selection of material without impurities and discarding more than 80 percent of the rough rock as unsuitable for jewelry.
- 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 from such a soft material.
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Products made with Chrysocolla
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Cutting services
Do you need reliable high-quality cutting services for a reasonable price? Are you looking for a service provider that is willing to develop new products according to your requirements? Would you like to get expert advice in order to improve your product? Do you wish for someone to optimize the process and get the most out of your rough? Just talk to us.
Get in Touch
+51 994104206
gemrockinternational@gmail.com