HPJ REF. POINT: EXTREMELY RARE 3.55 CT VS SIBERIAN CHROME IN SOUTH AFRICA

  Reference Point   ULTRA RARE 3.55 CARAT VS CLOSELY MATCHED SIBERIAN CHROME DIOPSIDE PAIR. ‘THE RUSSIAN EMERALD’   PROVENANCE: EARTH MINED AT INAGLI, SAKHA STATE (YAKUTIA), EASTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA     CARAT WEIGHT: 3.55 CARATS (COMBINED) CLARITY: VS (EXCELLENT FOR CHROME DIOPSIDES) COLOUR: CHROME GREEN CUT: OVAL CUT ORIGIN: INAGLI, SAKHA (YAKUTIA, EASTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA  TREATMENTS: NONE     Also known as the 'Russian Emerald', the Chrome Diopside is a gemstone of great beauty, and rarity.   In Siberia, it is too cold to mine during the winter, making an extra task of keeping production levels even throughout the year. On the MOHS scale of hardness, it is rated a 6-6.5, and is suitable for jewellery.       It has two planes, so you have to be extra careful when you facet it. This is also why there is approximately 90% loss on the rough. So to cut 10 carats of polished Chrome Diopside will require 100 carats of the rough!!   Yakutia, officially the Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation, is a land of extremes. To begin with, it is by far the world’s largest ‘stateoid’, or political unit below the level of a sovereign state, covering 3,103,200 square kilometers (1,198,000 square miles), as opposed to second-place Western Australia’s 2,527,621 square kilometers (975,919 square miles). More than twice the size of Alaska, Yakutia would be the world’s eighth largest country by area if it were independent. The white area is Yakutia.   In August 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Yakutia went so far as to declare the sovereignty of the region. Russia’s central government, however, would never contemplate the independence of Yakutia, as the region is far too large, and far too rich in gold, diamonds, and other precious minerals.