A very durable gemstone, danburite is an excellent choice for jewelry use. Although the mineral isn’t rare, large facetable pieces are scarce. Still, sufficient material exists for gem enthusiasts and adventurous jewelry lovers to add this lovely and underappreciated stone to their collections.
Danburite
Value
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Tried and true gem value factors apply to danburite. All other things being equal, larger, cleaner, better cut and better colored stones have a higher value per carat. However, a truly colorless specimen would surpass a very pale yellow or slightly pink stone in value per carat.
Danburite’s colors typically range from colorless to light yellow, pale pink, or tan. With poor cleavage and a hardness of 7, it ranks with popular jewelry stones such as quartz and topaz in toughness. Although its modest dispersion means cut danburites lack fire, properly cut gems are very bright. Rare specimens may also display chatoyancy.
Danburites, especially colorless material from Mexico, typically range in size between 1 and 5 carats. Yellow gems from Myanmar between 7 and 10 carats are very rare.
British Museum of Natural History (London): Myanmar, wine-yellow, step-cut, flawless, 135.61.
Due to some heat sensitivity, avoid steam cleaning this gem. Otherwise, danburite requires no special care. You can use these gems for all jewelry applications, including rings and bracelets. Consult our gemstone jewelry cleaning guide for more care recommendations.
Cut Danburite, Locality: Anjanabonoina, Ikaka, Ambohimanambola Commune, Betafo District, Vakinankaratra Region Antananarivo Province, Madagascar (0.47 cts). Photo by Didier Descouens. Licensed under CC By-SA 4.0.
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