In 2006, a 300+ carat flawless red Sunstone rough was discovered at the
Spectrum Mine outside Plush, Oregon. This stone was
acquired by a collector in Klamath Falls during the Tucson show in February, 2007.
I studied the stone off and on during 2007, and during July I spent two weeks planning, designing, cutting -
and also documenting that process. The finished gem weighs 81.25 carats, and hides the wisps of schiller
very nicely in an intense barrage of sunset-colored flashes. We named the gem the Spectrum Sunset - in
honor of the colors and in homage to the stone's birthplace after untold millions of years in waiting.
Below is a photograph of the stone. It is linked to a very high-resolution image of the piece.
The cutting process was documented in over three hours of raw video and over 250 still images. A
documentary-length DVD is in production, and we hope to release that later this year.
We have completed and released the four-minute short documenting in time-lapse the transformation
from rough stone to finished gem. We hope you enjoy and share the download:
Quicktime Format Smaller (3.1 MB)
Quicktime Format Bigger (4.7 MB)
Windows Media Smaller (21.5 MB)
Windows Media Bigger (27.4 MB)
