What is Zultanite ?

Zultanite is a precious mineral from the Diaspora that is mined in the Albir Mountains in southwestern Turkey. The color of Zultanite varies between yellowish green, light gold and purple pink, depending on its light source. Zultanite is a natural color changing gemstone. Zultanite has proven to be an impressive discovery.

Zultanite is one of the most attractive gemstones of the new millennium. In the past, Zultanite was a very rare gemstone, despite its beauty and suitability for jewelry. It is interesting to note that Zultanite is produced by only one mine, unlike other rare gemstones that are currently mined by many companies or in many countries. This rock is extracted directly from the host rock at an altitude of more than 1000 meters only in a remote place in the Anatolian mountains of Turkey.

The Turkish deposit is the only global source of Zultanite. The original Zultanite is recovered only from the environment using mining techniques. Zultanite’s names are named in honor of the Ottoman sultans. The sultans, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, named this miracle of nature, which shows a truly magnificent face, Zultanite. Zultanite is also known as "Empholith", "Kayserit" and "Tanatarit".

Zultanite Characterization

Zultanite's beauty and fascination lies in its colors, exceptional brilliance and chandelier. The unique feature of Zultanite is that it changes color from kiwi green (against sunlight) to raspberry red (under artificial light and candlelight) depending on the light source. It can even produce khaki green, cognac pink, pink champagne tones and ginger tones. Interestingly, the intensity of the color change in this gem does not depend on the intensity of the base color.

Zultanite is fully fissile in only one direction, making it one of the hardest gemstones in the world. Therefore, it is very important to balance the gemstone during sanding to minimize the gap and at the same time, choose the right angle to maximize the color change. Zultanite is very rare in larger sizes because about 98% of the raw gemstone is lost during grinding.

Zultanite History

Zultanite was first discovered as a gemstone in the early 1970s. Commercial mining began in 2006 when Zultanite Gems LLC acquired the mining rights to Zultanite. Jewelry began to acquire some small stones in the 1990s; however larger crystals of good quality were collected as storage. At that time, very few stores around the world were lucky enough to offer Zultanite.

Until recently, illegal mining and export of small quantities of Zultanite took place, but unfortunately, these crystals fell into the hands of inexperienced Far East cutters who were not trained in Zultanite, and eventually produced poor quality stones. In the past, only a few world-class collectors had Zultanite. But today, gemstone lovers have the opportunity to enjoy it and wear it to be admired by others.

Zultanite Source

As mentioned, high quality Zultanite is currently mined in only one place in the world, directly from its host rock at the heights of the Anatolian Mountains, 1,200 meters above sea level. The mine is located near the village of Selimiye in Turkey. With the nearest village of Selimiye in the Milas county of Muğla, more than seven miles away, there is no electricity or running water, and extraction is very difficult remotely. The extraction of this gem started in the mid 80's.

Zultanite was mined on a small scale by miners in the mid-1980s and has been operating on a commercial production scale since 2006. To reach these amazing crystals, you need to extract several tons of ore. As mechanization increases, Zultanite production will double this year, providing a steady supply of gemstones in demand from a wide range of jewelry retailers.

Zultanite Color

Although gemstones do not appear to be smaller than saturated in color, all Zultanite is pleiochroic, meaning that different colors from green to gold to pink are visible when viewed from different angles. Fantastic Zultanite is also seen through scattering and pleochroism, as Zultanite is said to be a color change gemstone. In daylight, this beautiful gem is lime green. When moving to a dimly lit space or candle, Zultanite slowly changes color. These colors can often be seen using fluorescent lamps as daylight and very low voltage 25 watt incandescent lamps or decorative tube light as candlelight.

Size is very important. Below, people with larger gemstones may see incredible glow and scatter in any light, but it is more difficult to see multiple colors in smaller gemstones. In fact, installing these smaller gemstones improves their appearance, and the beauty of Zultanite is more than 3 carats rare.

Zultanite Cut

As mentioned, Zultanite, just like diamonds, tends to split or split in a single direction, and the orientation of the crystal is more complex than usual. Most Zultanite rough products have the famous jewelry sizes of one to three carat gemstones. The size of more than 5 carats is very unique. There is a wide range of classic and special cuts of Zultanite.

Some Zultanites also show cat's eye effect. Cat’s eye effect, also known as chatoyancy, is seen as a line of brightly reflected light, resembling a cat's eye. Like star gems, the effect of a cat's eye depends on the gem that is cut "en cabochon" and is mostly seen in a direct light beam. These species of Zultanite are very rare due to their extraordinary dual effect.

Zultanite Care

 Gemstone jewelry should not be used during many activities such as washing dishes, gardening, cleaning the house, working with cars, etc. Like other gems, cleaning Zultanite with ultrasonic jewelry cleaners is not recommended. Always hold your Zultanite carefully to prevent scratches, and clean it only with mild soap and lukewarm water, in case of excessive contamination of the toothbrush. Use soft and under low pressure. After cleaning, wash your jewelry with lukewarm water and gently dry it with a soft cloth or decorative cloth.

Sudden temperature changes should be avoided when using Zultanite jewelry. Heat shock is the biggest risk for most gemstones. As mentioned, Zultanite in the form of cabochon is doubly fantastic, as it shows great color change and cat's eye effect.

Zultanite collection

Zultanite is actually rare, however, there are many reasons why Zultanite is attractive to any gem collector. Zultanite is still in the market and many jewelry professionals still do not see their first Zultanite. However, we live in an information age and Zultanite's reputation is growing rapidly.

In fact Zultanite is untreatable, this fact makes Zultanite more special than 90% of gemstones in any place. Because sapphire, ruby, emerald and tanzanite all have some degree of color healing or enhancement, whether it is a simple heat treatment or even synthetic dyes or oils.

Zultanite size is very important when collecting. All pure Zultanite, untreated can be found in only a select few locations around the world, so real quality control for global production is an undeniable fact. This means that the larger the Zultanite, the higher the price per carat. A large Zultanite is more than 5 carats; this size is very rare because most of them weigh less than 2 carats.

Zultanite as gift

Zultanite attractive colors fit many faces, fashions, characters and styles. When wearing Zultanite, women are very interested in Zultanite because of its great beauty and inherent flexibility.

The change of color, the strange location, the rarity and the brilliance of Zultanite make it a unique piece of jewelry. Zultanite is always natural, its rarity is a fact, and it is ethically extracted using environmentally safe techniques. Zultanite is also a very special piece of jewelry that provides instant solace and you will definitely feel good about having Zultanite.