gems, corundum, Mozambique.12

In January 2023, gem dealer Dudley Blauwet informed author BML about some interesting new sapphires that he obtained from Chimoio in central Mozambique, about 100 km east of the border with Zimbabwe. The sapphires are notable for their range of colour and diversity of inclusions, and in some cases they display a noticeable schiller effect when viewed at certain orientations with a pinpoint light source. The largest clean stones that Blauwet obtained consisted of an orangey brown-pink gem weighing 3.75 ct and two red-orange gems weighing just over 3 ct. He also cut several smaller round brilliants measuring 3.0, 3.5 and 4.5 mm in diameter that showed various colours ranging from pink to purplish pink, brownish pink and reddish orange. Two of the 3.0 mm gems were red enough to be classified as ruby.