New Acquisitions - Conchita Butterfly
- Photography by Harold & Erica Van Pelt, courtesy of Fine Gems International. Gift of Robert E. Kane/Fine Gems International and Paula Crevoshay, 2007.
This spectacular butterfly brooch highlights the amazing color range of natural sapphires from Montana. The 18k yellow gold butterfly is set with 331 round brilliant-cut sapphires and 2 cabochon cut sapphires, totaling 27.97 carats. The exquisitely crafted piece is extremely versatile and can be worn as a brooch, pendant, or clasp. Most of these fancy-colored sapphires are from the famed Rock Creek deposit, located in the Sapphire Mountains near historic Philipsburg, Montana. More popularly known as Gem Mountain, gold miners discovered sapphires here in the late 1890’s. Over a period of 110 years, several hundred million carats of gem-quality sapphire were produced from this site that noted gemologists and journalists describe as the “Rainbow Over Montana.” The Montana Sapphire Butterfly, a collaboration by jewelry designer Paula Crevoshay and gem dealer Robert Kane, was generously given by them to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Gem Collection in 2007.
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