GIA’s Museum Collection Receives Large Turkish Diaspore

From GIA, Carlsbad, Calif. - The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) recently received a 24.60 ct. step-diamond cut, color-change Turkish diaspore that is marketed as Zultanite™. The gem was donated by Zultanite Gems LLC and will become part of the Institute’s permanent Museum collection.

“This donation is meant to show GIA our appreciation for identifying the first Zultanite crystal two decades ago,” said Murat Akgun, managing director of Zultanite Gems LLC. “Through GIA’s research help, we learned that it is a phenomenal gemstone unique to Turkey. We hope its presence in the GIA Museum will help the public learn more about this special gem and its origins.”

Zultaniteis a transparent gem with phenomenal properties such as chatoyancy and color change, and it has a hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale. The stone appears yellow-green/green-yellow in daylight/fluorescent light and shifts to brownish, purplish pink in incandescent light.

“We are pleased to receive such a large and impressive example of Zultanite,” said Patricia Syvrud, GIA’s director of In-Kind Gifts. “Mr. Akgun’s generous gift, now part of our permanent collection, allows us to share this material with our researchers, students, and the visiting public.”