The Magnificent 5500-Carat Star Rose Quartz: A Jewel in the Michael Scott Collection

The Michael Scott Collection, arguably the most important private gem collection in the United States, with a few rivals in the world outside of the royal families, was started by Michael Scott, the first president of Apple Computer (1977-81), in 1987 and almost completed within a record-breaking period of 14 years. The collection includes spectacular examples of both rough crystals and faceted gemstones of all major as well as rare gemstone varieties, jewelry, and magnificent gem carvings, and also some antique jewelry from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. This unique collection will remain an everlasting testimony to what an individual can achieve with total dedication and commitment to whatever field he might choose to apply himself.

With a University Degree in Nuclear Physics, Scott went onto become the President of Apple Computer, which may not be quite relevant to his original field of study, and during a short period of five years, that represented the tenure of his service with the company, Apple Computer became one of the most successful companies in the United States. His interest in gemstones started in 1984-85 when he began reading on all aspects of gemstones and built up his knowledge on gemology. Having acquired sufficient knowledge of gemology he prepared a list of the pieces of gems he would like to have in his collection, and used a small group of selected and trusted brokers to go after what he wanted. This helped him to build his impressive collection within the shortest possible time.

The Largest Star Rose Quartz in the World

One of the rare pieces in this extraordinary collection is a 5500-carat star rose quartz from Brazil, which is reputed to be the largest star rose quartz in the world. This enormous gemstone qualifies to be placed under the list of world famous gemstones, but is as yet unnamed. This web page is dedicated to this unique and rare gemstone.

Characteristics of the Gemstone

The gemstone that weighs an enormous 5500 carats is a spherical cabochon-cut, star rose quartz, with a rich pink color, good translucency and a perfect centrally placed six-rayed star, with distinct rays extending towards the girdle of the stone. The gemstone seems to contain the optimum quantity of rutile, that gives a perfect and distinct six-rayed star, without interfering with the translucency of the stone. The slight silky undertone visible in the stone is caused by rutile. The cut and polish of the stone is also perfect. Thus this extraordinary and unique gemstone combines the rare features of excellent color, good translucency and well defined star, making it the largest and finest star rose quartz in the world. In the Michael Scott collection the star rose quartz is mounted on a silver sculpture designed by the Seattle-based silversmith, John Marshall.

All features in this gemstone are so perfect that at a glance it may be mistaken for a star ruby with pinkish overtones such as the Sri Lankan star rubies, which are also famous for their well-defined stars. Its only the massive size of the gemstone that may give rise to doubts about it being classified as a star ruby, because as a rule, rubies of gem-quality cannot grow to such enormous sizes.

Asterism in Rose Quartz

Asterism is an optical phenomenon shown by some crystals when cut and polished en cabochon, producing a six-rayed or rarely a 12-rayed star by reflected or transmitted light, due to the presence of certain microscopic inclusions in the crystal, such as rutile fibers, that are arranged in a three-fold pattern inside the crystal, parallel to three crystal faces. Minerals that show this phenomenon include ruby and sapphires (corundum), quartz, beryl, chrysoberyl, crocidolite, garnet, diopside, spinel etc. Rutile fibres were produced in minerals by a process known as exsolution, in which at high temperatures various impurities like rutile were incorporated into the lattice structure of the mineral during its formation, which was later forced out of the latttice when the mineral cooled.

This is precisely the reason why asterism is not so common in most varieties of quartz, but seen quite often in rose quartz. Rose quartz developed inside pegmatite intrusions at high temperatures which also incorporated rutile, and when the crystals cooled down, the rutile was exsolved and formed inclusions. When the crystals are properly oriented and cut and polished with the dome-shaped face perpendicular to the c-axis, a distinct six-rayed star is produced when the crystal is exposed to a direct source of light. The star is best seen when light is viewed through the rose quartz, i.e. in transmitted light. This star effect known as "diasterism" is best seen when the stone is illuminated from behind. This is different from asterism in other gemstones such as ruby and sapphire, where stars are seen when light is shown on the gems, i.e. reflected light. This type of star effect is known as "epiasterism." Another important observation that has been made is that smaller the rutile needles sharper is the star effect. If the needles are large enough to be visible to the naked eye as inclusions, the quartz becomes milky with a decreased translucency and lacks asterism.

History of the 5500-Carat Rose Quartz

Source of the Rose Quartz

The enormous 5500-carat Rose Quartz in the Michael Scott's collection is believed to be of Brazilian origin. Today, Brazil is the main source of rose quartz in the world. Brazil is also the only source in the world of true well formed crystals of rose quartz. In Brazil rose quartz is found in Minas Gerais, the third largest state in the southeast region of Brazil. Minas Gerais in the Portuguese Language means "general mines" or "large mines" a reference to the large mines of gold and precious stones discovered in the state in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Cutting and Polishing of the Gemstone

The weight of the rough crystal from which the 5,500-carat rose quartz was derived is not known. The rough rose quartz was in all probability cut and polished in the United States. The spherical cabochon-cut of the stone is exceptional, and the dome-shaped face of the stone has been properly aligned so that it is perpendicular to the c-axis of the crystal. Thus the star has been exactly centered on the dome shaped face of the stone. The perfect cut and positioning of the star provides ample evidence in respect of the abilities of the expert cutter of this famous gemstone.

Another extra-ordinary difficulty faced in the cutting of star rose quartzes, is that the star is not visible in the rough stone, but is brought out only after cutting and polishing, with proper alignment of the dome-shaped face of the stone, perpendicular to the c-axis of the crystal. In a massive irregular crystal of rose quartz locating the c-axis alone will present enormous problems to the cutter. Thus the perfect cut of this stone is indeed a commendable achievement.

"Gems! The Art and Nature of Precious Stones" Exhibition

The 5500-carat star rose quartz was mounted on a a silver sculpture designed by the silversmith John Marshall of Seattle, in the year 1990. In February 2002, Bower's Museum, California, hosted the exhibition titled "Gems! The Art and Nature of Precious Stones" in which Michael Scott's magnificent collection of gems and minerals were displayed. The exhibition which opened on February 16, 2002, was scheduled to close in August, but was extended for a much longer period of time, by popular demand. During this exhibition over 250 pieces of gemstones and minerals were put on display, highlighting the scientific as well as the artistic aspects of gemstones. The 5500-carat star rose quartz was one of the items on display.

Some of the other prominent exhibits included a 65-carat cornflower blue sapphire guarded by a solid gold cobra, a 400.06-carat yellow sapphire mounted on a flower-shaped gold sculpture known as "Ceylon Sin Flower," the "Demantoid Butterfly" set with 330 demantoid garnets and 472 diamonds, the "Queen of Kilimanjaro" tiara set with a 242-carat large Tanzanite (probably the world's largest) 913 diamonds and 803 green tsavorite garnets, several large raw crystals, several cut and polished gemstones and colored diamonds, and sculptures made out of raw crystals, and also several pieces of antique jewelry. This exhibition was a tremendous success judging by the popular response.