Skip to main content
Apply For Financing Apply Now
  • Search
  • My Account
  • Shopping Bag
  • About The Ring
  • We're Hiring
  • Contact
    • Round Rock
    • Austin
The Ring Austin logo
  • Engagement Rings
    Choose your Style
    Solitaire Side-Stone Three Stone Halo Pave Antique Single Row Multi Row Bypass
    Solitaire Side-Stone Three Stone Halo Pave
    Vintage Single Row Multi Row Bypass
    Build a Ring
    Start with the DiamondStart with the Ring
    Wedding Bands
    Men’s Ladies
    The Four Cs of Diamonds
    The Four Cs of Diamonds

    Engagement Rings
  • Wedding Bands
    Men's
    Men's Diamond Wedding BandsMen's Gold Wedding BandsAlternative Metal Bands With StonesAlternative Metal Bands No Stones
    All Men's Wedding Bands
    All Men's Wedding Bands
    All Ladie's Wedding Bands
    All Ladie's Wedding Bands
    Women's
    Women's Diamond Wedding BandsWomen's Gold Wedding BandsDiamond Anniversary RingsDiamond Wrap Rings
  • Diamonds & Gems
    Lab Grown DiamondsOur Diamond WallJewelry Care
    Jewelry GlossaryA to Z Gemstone Guide
    The Four Cs of DiamondsBirthstone Guide
    Diamond Search
    Diamond Search
  • Shop Now
    Engagement Rings
    Diamond Engagement ringsSolitaire Engagement RingsDiamond Semi-Mount RingsRings
    Ladies Wedding Bands
    Women's Gold Wedding BandsWomen's Diamond Wedding BandsDiamond Anniversary RingsDiamond Wrap Rings
    Men's Wedding Bands
    Alternative Metal Bands No StonesAlternative Metal Bands With StonesMen's Gold Wedding BandsMen's Diamond Wedding Bands
    Women's Fashion Rings
    Women's Colored Stone RingsStackable RingsWomen's Diamond Fashion Rings
    Earrings
    Lab Grown Diamond EarringsWomen's Fashion EarringsSilver EarringsPearl EarringsColored Stone EarringsDiamond Earrings
    Bracelets
    Gold BraceletsWomen's Fashion BraceletSilver BraceletsPearl BraceletsColored Stone BraceletsDiamond Bracelet
    Men's Jewelry
    Men's Diamond Fashion RingsMen's BraceletsMen's NecklacesTie bars or Tie TacksCuff LinksMoney Clips

    Shop Now
  • Specials
  • Search
  • My Account
  1. Home
  2. Kunzite

Kunzite

(koo nts-ahyt)kunzite-175x175.jpg

 HISTORY and LORE

  • Kunzite is a relative newcomer to the array of colored stones available for use in jewelry. As the story goes, specimens of an as-yet-unidentified pink crystal were found in San Diego County, California, and sent to Tiffany & Co.’s mineralogist, George Frederick Kunz. The year was 1902. Kunz was able to confirm that the crystals were, in fact, spodumene, but the previously unrecognized color made the find a new variety of the mineral.
  • Charles Baskerville, a chemistry professor at the University of North Carolina and later the City College of New York, subsequently named kunzite in honor of George Kunz in 1903.
  • In the years since, kunzite has proven to be a highly desirable gem.

 

VALUE FACTORS

  • Color: Occurring in attractive shades of pink to violet, kunzite crystals are also often large.
  • Clarity: It is not uncommon to find kunzites that are virtually inclusion-free, so the presence of many eye-visible inclusions will greatly lower its value.
  • Cut: Though difficult to cut due to its two cleavage directions, it lends itself to lovely finished gems that show magnificently in fine jewelry. Usually faceted in traditional shapes and styles.
  • Carat Weight: It’s not unusual to find kunzite in large sizes. There is an extremely large example that weighs 648.10 carats.

 

GEMOLOGY

  • Kunzite is the best-known variety of the mineral spodumene. It’s named after famed gemologist George Frederick Kunz, who was the first to identify it as a unique variety of spodumene. Kunzite gets its delicate color from trace amounts of manganese. California’s San Diego County is an important source of kunzite.
  • Chemical formula LiAlSi2O6.

 

CARE

Kunzites generally have good wearablility.

  • Hardness: Moderate scratch resistance. Rates 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale.
  • Toughness: Kunzite can break under pressure or sharp temperature changes, or fade under heat and bright light.
  • Stability: Kunzite’s color can be enhanced by irradiation followed by heat treatment. As with naturally colored kunzite, treated color can fade with exposure to heat and light.
  • Cleaning: Warm, soapy water is safe to use when cleaning kunzite jewelry.

 

 

 

 

Round Rock
110 E. Anderson Ave. Suite 100
Round Rock, TX 78664
(512) 258-4653
Store Information
Monday - Wednesday:11:00am - 6:00pm
Thursday - Friday:11:00am - 7:00pm
Saturday:10:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday:12:00pm - 5:00pm
Austin
3010 W Anderson Lane Suite G
Austin, TX 78757
(512) 489-9090
Store Information
Monday - Wednesday:11:00am - 6:00pm
Thursday - Friday:11:00am - 7:00pm
Saturday:10:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday:12:00pm - 5:00pm

FOLLOW US:

Our Store
  • Buying and Selling Gold
  • Create a Wish List
  • Return Policy/Warranty
  • Privacy Policy
  • Jewelry Repair Services
  • Financing
Jewelry
  • Engagement Rings
  • Ladies Wedding Bands
  • Men's Wedding Bands
  • Women's Fashion Rings
  • Earrings
  • Bracelets
  • Men's Jewelry
  • Necklaces
Diamonds & Gems
  • Lab Grown Diamonds
  • Our Diamond Wall
  • Jewelry Care
  • The Four Cs of Diamonds
  • Jewelry Glossary
  • Gemstone Guide
  • Birthstone Guide
Designers
  • 24k Rose
  • Allison Kaufman
  • Andrew Hamilton Crawford
  • Anna Beck
  • Artcarved
  • Artcarved Men's
  • Avigdor
  • Benchmark
  • Bijou
  • Gemological Institute of America
  • Continental Buying Group
  • Gemological Institute of America
  • Jewelers of America

© 2023 The Ring Austin. All Rights Reserved. Website designed, maintained, and hosted by Punchmark. Accessibility Statement.