gems, olivine, peridot, forsterite, Tajikistan, Myanmar

In addition to the gem-quality colorless forsterite from Myanmar that has recently appeared in the trade, a new source of colorless forsterite has emerged from Tajikistan. According to gem dealer Farooq Hashmi (Intimate Gems, Jamaica, New York), small quantities of this material have been recovered from the Kukh-i-Lal skarn-type gem deposit in the southwestern Pamir Mountains, where it occurs in association with clinohumite and spinel. Hashmi discovered a few colorless forsterite pieces mixed into a 3+ kg parcel of clinohumite he acquired in mid-2008. He faceted a 3.54 ct gem from one of these rough pieces and loaned it to GIA for examination.