CRYSTALS: Petalite

QUESTION: Sheila, I was wondering if you could tell me why the crystal Petalite is cheaper in a tumblestone or palm stone than it is in a very small rough stone. Let me know if you can find out why. Thank you for your help.

ANSWER: Hi, thanks for your question. Don't quote me on this, but my guess is that Petalite is cheaper in its rough form because it so small and rare. It is also a very fragile stone, so it takes a real expert in faceting to actually develop a beautiful cut Petalite. Tumbling Petalite may require several rough pieces to be melded together to make a palm stone and/or it may diminish the value of the crystal because so much of the stone falls apart in this process.

This is my guess, if anyone else has a knowledgable answer to this question, please chime in!

Sheila Satin