SparHawk Maine Tourmaline Ring

I’m a jeweler in Portland, Maine. Through no brilliance or wisdom of my own, I lucked out being born in Portland to a family of jewelers with our state’s deep history of gem mining. Tourmaline is the big deal gem they first found here 200 years ago. We, apparently, have a “just right” rare geology that holds all the proper elements to create gems.

Nature was generous and produced more tourmaline in Maine than in almost any other place on Earth. We are fortunate, and I am lucky to be here at this moment in history to bring these rare gems to America in exquisite jewelry designs.

This ring is almost impossible.
The deeper story of this ring

The SparHawk gem mine is located just 25 miles north of Portland; it’s remarkably close. If we go across the street from our building in Portland to the Eastland Hotel, we can see Mt. Washington from their Top of the East Restaurant, 15 stories above the street and 89 miles away to the west. The SparHawk tourmaline find is to the north and just 28 miles away…it’s close.

The SparHawk Mine was opened 110 years ago to mine for feldspar. They were surprised to find a treasure trove of gem tourmaline. There was a flurry of activity. Lots of gems were found. This discovery made national news, and then, after a few years of mining, they abandoned the site. A hundred years went by, and a young guy came along, bought the property, and, on a lark, began mining. He went 30 feet deeper than the earlier miners had gone and hit vastly more tourmaline gems and, for a time, had the most successful tourmaline mine in the world.

The gem tourmaline in this ring is from the SparHawk mine. It weighs 1.92 carats and is an exceedingly rare style of cut called the Twilight cut. The gem measures 8 x 6mm. Its pattern of cutting is super simple, and yet it is one of the most complex gem styles to cut. To create the twinkle effect of cubed light twinkling up and down the length of the gem, the top and bottom of the angles must be perfect. The twilight with wings (this cut) is made of compound curves. It has wings, as its name implies, plus, it has a roll to it, like a rolltop desk. This results in an effect and performance, unlike any other style of cutting. We call this type of cutting a phenomenal gem. It creates a hypnotic effect. On your finger, you can almost hypnotize yourself as you roll the glittering light back and forth, up and down. Guaranteed, you’ve never seen anything like it.

Now, why is this gem super special? It was cut by Sean Sweeney, one of America’s finest gem cutters. Sean was a genius gem cutter. If it was music, he would be Beethoven, Brahms, or Mozart. If it was art, he would be Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, or Vincent van Gogh.

When you acquire this ring and say this is a Sean Sweeney, you are declaring a high art form. The gem is exquisite. The cutting is superb. The brilliance is beautiful. Sean passed away a couple of years ago, which means the gems Sean has cut are now a defined number. No more will ever be cut. This 1.92-carat SparHawk is one of the last SparHawk twilight-cut gems ever cut.

We miss Sean. He was an awesome cutter. He was brilliant and a good friend. Visit our website. Most of the SparHawk gems shown were cut by Sean Sweeney.

SparHawk
Maine Tourmaline Ring

We have set this into a simple, custom, low-profile, finger-hugging ring design. The gem is halo set with a rim of gold, locking the gem securely in place. This ring is ideal for the woman seeking a simple, practical design that is not over the top. It was created to flow with its new owner, to blend with her life and lifestyle while being drop-dead gorgeous. It is a simple, elegant piece of jewelry.

A Great Value

When we made this ring, the price of gold was $1,400 per ounce. Today, gold has passed $2,450 per ounce. While we haven’t changed the price of this ring, new gold pricing would easily add $500 to the price. Feel tempted? Don’t wait