Cut stone
0.64ct Taaffeite
0.64 ct · Taaffeite
One of the rarest gem minerals there is, and the only one first identified from a cut stone.
$14,200
$22,187.50 per carat · AUD, GST included where applicable
Stones above $5,000 are sold by arrangement rather than through the basket. Above that value no ordinary courier will both carry and insure a loose stone, so carriage goes through a specialist service and is quoted for your destination — and settlement is by bank transfer, which keeps the card fee off a sum this size.
The person who answers is the person who owns the stone.
- Sent by a specialist insured service, quoted for your destination.
- Seven days from delivery to inspect and return for a full refund.
- One of a kind — when it sells it is gone, and the listing stays up as a record.
About this stone
Taaffeite was identified in 1945 by Richard Taaffe, who noticed that a stone in a box of cut spinel was doubly refractive — making it the only gem species ever first recognised from an already-faceted stone rather than from a crystal. Fewer than a few thousand cut examples are thought to exist.
It looks like a pale mauve spinel and is routinely mistaken for one, which is exactly how the original was found. Certification is not optional for this species and this stone is called by GIA.
Specification
| Form | Cut stone |
|---|---|
| Species | Taaffeite |
| Weight | 0.64 ct |
| Shape | Oval |
| Measurements | 5.6 × 4.7 × 3.2 mm |
| Colour | Pale mauve-violet, light tone |
| Colour family | Violet & purple |
| Clarity | Eye clean |
| Origin | Sri Lankaour assessment |
How big it actually is
Treatment & certification
Unheated
No heat and no other treatment of any kind. Bought at source, so the heat status is known rather than assumed.
How we know
No indications of treatment (GIA report GIA-1229018844).
GIA reportGIA-1229018844
Natural taaffeite. No indications of treatment.
Issued 8 January 2026. The report travels with the stone.
Every listing on this site states its treatment, including when the honest answer is that we don’t know. How we describe stones.
Find rough like this? We buy it.