Nullamanna - The journey of a sapphire

[Rej]

My mate and I went to Nullamanna with our boys recently to hunt for sapphires. For those who don't know, it's a public fossicking reserve north of Inverell. The water level was much lower than the first time we went so we had hopes of actually finding something this time!



After half a day, I only found a few small pieces myself but my mate and his son found this beautiful top-siever.



3.15ct and flawless.



My friend decided to trust me with cutting it. I chose Marco Voltolini's "Rubicello" design to fit the rough.

It turned out nice. Recovery was the highest I've done in a while at 43% coming out at 1.34ct (6.7mm x 5.5mm)



Of course, like most natural sapphires coming from that area, it's a bit dark. But still, under normal conditions you can see its gorgeous deep blue colour. This picture is the closest I got at how it looks in real life, even though it's using a lighted loupe.



and this picture I think shows it off really well, even though the brightness is a bit exaggerated.



There you go, just some pictures to brighten up your day and to prove the naysayers wrong about these public areas being picked clean and not worth the time. The rains keep wearing away those banks and new goodies keep being deposited. 

 

[Aussie Sapphire]

that is a beautiful sapphire - a real winner.

well done

leah

[MrSydney]

Nice!

Funnily enough I posted asking for experiences at Nullamanna only 6 - 12 months ago and nobody had much to say!

Out of curiousity - were you just working the creek?  Or digging up on the banks more?

Thanks!

[Rej]

Funnily enough I posted asking for experiences at Nullamanna only 6 - 12 months ago and nobody had much to say!

Well in my defense, this was only about a month ago during QLD school holidays. We did go a year and a half ago and could barely get the sieves in the water without the current ripping them from our hands. Didn't find much that time...

Out of curiousity - were you just working the creek?  Or digging up on the banks more?

This was right in the creek. Just picked a spot, moved large rocks until we found some gravel. collect, sieve, repeat.

[MALACHI]

I like the look of the spot you were fossicking, not to difficult to access. Seems a perfect spot for taking a family who take exception to steep slopes and thick scrub and congrats on finding such a beautiful stone.

Cheers Malachi 

[Jimnyjerry]

Well done Rej 

[colza]

Hi Rej & congrats.

Have worked that pictured spot before for nothing gained but a nice day out. Am thinking that low water levels do make a difference there.

Cheers,
colza

[MrSydney]

Thanks for the response and awesome stone!

[southerly]

Very nice stone, lovely cutting well done.