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Wonderful opportunity to possess vintage natural unfaceted Montana Rock Sapphires hand set into beautiful pendents in various sizes and shapes. Each pendant is unique, and no two are alike.
Gold frame pendent RCS 91 from gold collection
Silver frame pendent RCS 120 from silver collection
Copper frame pendent RCS 69 from copper collection.
Bronze frame pendent RCS 124 from bronze collection
Montana sapphires and especially these Rock Creek sapphires have been described by experts as "the finest sapphires in the world". They are known for their high refractive index and brilliance under various light conditions. They possess a rainbow of colors from red (rubies), green, teal, yellow, orange, lavender, blue, white and clear and many times mixtures of several colors. Look closely and one can see the many variations in colors and clarity of these sapphires. A pinkish orange variety of sapphire is called padparadscha while a multicolored one is called particolored or a bi-color sapphire which exhibits two or more colors within a single stone. I think you can spot both in many of these pendants.
What is the story of these vintage Montana Rock Creek sapphires?
These sapphires have made a round trip from Montana’s Rock Creek to Switzerland and back. It starts with
THE AMERICAN GEM MINING SYNDICATE
Sapphires were first discovered on Montana’s upper Rock Creek around 1892 by pioneer gold miners William Knut and William Moffitt. In 1901 the American Gem Mining Syndicate (AGMS) was incorporated to operate two groups of sapphire properties they held in Montana, the Yogo Gulch claim group in the Little Belt Mountains and the Rock Creek claim group near Phillipsburg, Montana. Millions of carets of sapphires were mined by AGMS over forty years and shipped to factories in Switzerland where some were faceted into gems but most were turned into sapphire bearings for watches and precision instruments. Advances in technology overtook natural sapphires when synthetics were developed which were cheaper and nearly flawless. The final shipment of sapphires from AGMS’s mines on Rock Creek occurred in the late 1930’s. Because the transformation to synthetics was being made, they were not accepted at the plant in Switzerland. Bags of these sapphires were returned to AGMS in Phillipsburg and put into storage where they’ve been kept for more than 80 years. Click the pictures below to see how small the cup, doughnut and shaft bearings for instruments compared to a pin. Imagine looking for these on the floor.
Where to purchase?
If you found something you like and would like to purchase any of these beautiful sapphire pendents, just remember the RCS number and follow the secure link to ETSY in our logo below. Each comes with your choice of chain or cord.
Questions?
go2granite@yahoo.com