Photo plates

The stone, plate by plate.

Polished material from the Kenyan deposit, alongside the magnified needle structure that produces the sheen. More plates are added as new stones are photographed.

Polished gold sheen sapphire cabochon, teardrop cut, blue and gold banded chatoyancy, photographed on a cream leather backdrop

Plate I

Teardrop cabochon — banded blue and gold sheen across the full length of the stone.

Polished gold sheen sapphire cabochon in a hexagonal cut, warm golden tones with a bezel edge

Polished gold sheen sapphire cabochon in an oval cut, blue-green and gold tones, photographed against a soft grey backdrop

Polished gold sheen sapphire cabochon, teardrop cut, blue and gold banding, photographed on white

Plate IV

A second teardrop cabochon — the same banding pattern, cut from a different section of rough.

Macro photograph of a blue gold sheen sapphire cabochon showing sheen banding, held between fingers

Plate V

The blue-bodied variant — same hematite-ilmenite sheen structure, cooler body colour.

Blue gold sheen sapphire cabochon examined under a loupe with tweezers, three grading views

Large elongated gold sheen sapphire cabochon with fine parallel silk, held between two fingers

From @gold_sheen_sapphire

Recent pieces from the collection.

Polished gold sheen sapphire cabochon, teardrop cut, deep blue and gold banding, studio photograph on white

Polished gold sheen sapphire cabochon, rectangular cut, olive and gold tones, studio photograph on grey

Round gold sheen sapphire cabochon with black and gold banding, studio photograph on grey

Oval gold sheen sapphire cabochon with dark and gold banding, studio photograph on white

Follow @gold_sheen_sapphire for new pieces as they're cut and photographed.

Under magnification

What the sheen looks like up close.

The four plates above show finished stones. These two show why they look that way — the hematite and ilmenite needle field beneath the surface, magnified.