Gilt Jewellery Cat's Eye Inanga Pounamu & 9ct Gold Ring

This stunning collection features an Oval Cut Cat's Eye Inanga Pounamu set in 9ct gold.

Inanga- Pounamu takes its name from a freshwater fish native to New Zealand. It is pale and often transparent, like the young of the Inanga fish. It is pearly white to grey green in colour, and ranges from translucent to quite opaque. It can change colour over time, developing a light olive tint as it ages and oxidises - Highly prized by the Māori and the desired material for making Mere and Patu.

Chatoyance is an optical phenomenon in which a band of reflected light, known as a " Cat's-Eye," moves just beneath the surface of a cabochon-cut. Chatoyance occurs in stones that contain a large number of very thin parallel inclusions within the stone, known as a "silk." The light reflects from these inclusions to form a thin band across the surface of the stone. The band of light always occurs at right angles to the length of the parallel inclusions. These inclusions can be crystals, hollow tubes, or other linear structures that are present throughout the stone and are usually aligned with a crystallographic axis. Needle-like crystals of rutile and hematite are well-known for producing a cat's-eye in many specimens.

Handcrafted by Gilt & Deane Moreton

Stone size 18.1mm x 12.8mm

Ring 6.5mm tapering to 4.2mm wide

This will be the exact piece you will receive in the photos, there may be a slight degree of colour variation based on different computer or device screen resolutions that you are viewing from.