Saphire Earrings 2.45 ct pink purple yellow 14 kt Yellow Gold Ilakaka Mine Madagascar

untreated NATURAL COLOR sapphires in overwhelming colors...always a rarity because most sapphires are heated, stud earrings classically set in 585 yellow gold, 4 sapphires in different colors purple-pink and yellow total approx. 2.45 ct, AAA+, Ilakaka Mine Madagascar, very good cut, held floating by 3 and 4 crabs, made of 585 yellow gold, earrings dimensions approx. 16 x 6 x 15 mm, weighs approx. 2 grams, all information was checked by a jewelry appraiser for authenticity and quality information

The Ilakaka-Sakaraha deposit is one of the world’s largest alluvial sapphire deposit, covering an area of approximately 4,000 km2. Starting from the Ilakaka river basin and then going southwest for roughly 120 kilometers, onto the Benahy and Taheza rivers basins. The alluvial sapphire-rich layer is located under a sandy ground overburden, which varies considerably in depth, from a meter up to 60 meters in thickness. The depth of the gem bearing layer will determine the type of mining technique used to retrieve the sapphires:  

If the depth is less than 10-15 meters, an open-cast quarry technique is often employed. These quarries can reach impressive dimensions. The “Banque Suisse” mine near Ilakaka is probably the most famous of these quarries; exceeding 20 meters in depth and having been entirely dug out manually, using the “angady”, a Malagasy light agricultural shovel. 

When the depth exceeds 15 meters, the preferred method is to dig narrow vertical pits, locally called “vovo”, down to the alluvial layer and then dig horizontal tunnels to recover the gravels. In the Taheza area, these mining pits can reach 50 meters in depth