Oregon Sunstone Miners Association
Our Mission first and foremost is to maintain the integrity of the image and marketplace for Oregon Sunstone as a rare, all natural, all American gemstone. If you purchase Oregon Sunstone from a member of the OSMA you can be confident that the stones, rough or finished, are free of treatment or enhancement of any kind and are mined in Lake or Harney County, Oregon, USA.
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Today Oregon Sunstone is a very rare and highly desired gemstone that is particularly sought by master gem artists and designers. It’s unique and enchanting colors allow artists to create “one of a kind in the world” pieces that win the excitement and appreciation of their clients and win award after award in competitions such as the AGTA Spectrum awards.
Oregon sunstones exhibit a glow from within due to millions of microscopic copper platelets, known as schiller. Colors of the stone vary from clear, champagne, yellow, light pink, salmon, orange, and red to blue-green. Intense red and blue-green are the colors that are most rare.
At 6.5 to 7.2 on the Moh’s hardness scale, Sunstone competes favorably with Tanzanite, Topaz, Amethyst, Emerald, and other well-known gems, and with prices ranging from $20.00 per carat to as much as $2500.00 per carat, based on color, cut, clarity, and weight; there is an Oregon sunstone available for everyone.
Color can vary within a single sunstone. Some stones exhibit a color gradient. They might be pink on one side of the stone and the color gradually strengthens to orange on the other side of the stone. Other stones have sharp color changes. These stones might have patches of green in contact with an area of strong red color. Some exceptional stones are pleochroic - their color depends upon the direction of observation.
In the United States the use of sunstone by lapidaries began in the early 1900s. At that time Tiffany & Company acquired mining claims near the community of Plush, Oregon. There they opened the first commercial sunstone mine in the United States and produced jewelry with faceted sunstone and sunstone cabochons. They called the clear stones "Plush Diamonds”.
A limited amount of gem quality Oregon Sunstone hits the market each year and very small amounts of “ultra-fine material are discovered. This makes Oregon Sunstone much more suited for rare and unique pieces than mass production.
Some value the stone for its metaphysical properties, claiming that it holds a positive energy represented by the power of the sun, bestowing prosperity, wisdom, fearlessness, generosity, and mental clarity.
Current OSMA Members:
Sunrise Sunstones
Dust Devil Mining
Sunstone Butte Mine
Ponderosa Mine
Work Um Hard #4
Suncrystal Mining
Sunrise Sunstones
New Horizon Gems
We are just starting up, come back and visit us often as our website and membership grows...