I acquired about 1,000 pounds of beryl from a family who's father had worked in a northern ohio factory from the mid 1950's to the early 1990's. The company imported Beryl ore from Africa, and smelted the ore in large furnaces (1400 C). They sold the refined Beryllium ingots to NASA for use in constructing heat shields for space craft. The father of the family was a rock hound who would pick pretty pieces off the ore piles during his lunch breaks. I was happy to get his "stash," of beryl and spent weeks screening and sorting the rough to find gems like this one.

The rough is a non-damaged, lightly etched goshenite crystal that weighs 86 grams and is internally clean (can be faceted). The stone was cut by American cutter Michael Davis. It is a very bright, flawless modified Barion cut (rectangular cushion) that weighs 34.50 carats. The siblings of these two pieces were smashed, melted and shot into space.