Celebrating the beauty of South African Gemstones

Stamp issue date: 10 July 2009
Artwork: Sean Beukes
Stamp size: 48.3 x 28 mm
Stamp sheet size: 120 x 70 mm
Paper: Sopal stamp paper weight 110 gsm
Gum: PVA tasteless tropical water soluble gum
Quantity printed: 200.000 sheets of 4 stamps
Colour: CMYK with foil
Phosphor: 4 mm in L shape, on left and top of stamp.
Printing process: Offset Lithography
Printed by: Joh. Enschedé Stamps B.V., The Netherlands

South Africa has an abundance of natural beauty. Our breathtaking scenery, prolific wildlife and the diversity of our vibrant cultures and people are there for everyone to see and enjoy. Another kind of beauty found here, which is not as immediately apparent, is the rich variety of our minerals and gemstones. In celebration of this beauty, the South African Post Office will issue a set of four stamps on 10 July featuring some our most colourful gemstones.

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. This popular phrase coined as early as the 3rd century BC, certainly applies to the beauty of gemstones. Beauty, rarity, hardness, natural origin and chemical resistance are some of the sought-after properties of precious stones or gemstones. Only about 80 of the more than 3 000 known minerals meet these requirements.

A natural gemstone is formed in nature, usually over a period of millions of years. This involves geological processes acting at certain temperatures and pressures without the interference of man. Synthetic gemstones are manufactured in laboratories under controlled temperatures and pressure conditions.

The stamps, designed by Sean Beukes, show the polished gemstones set against a graphic representation of the facets used in gem cutting. Holographic foil of various colours was used in the printing process. The gemstones featured on the stamps were chosen for their colour and the visual effect the foil colours would have on the finished stamp sheet.
The gemstones represented on the stamps are:

Sugilite
Sugilite is also known as ‘Royal Lavulite’, ‘Royal Azel’ or ‘Wesselite’. However, the name sugilite has been approved as the correct term for this grape-coloured gem. It varies in colour from purple through to bluish-purple and reddish purple due to manganese in the structure.
In South Africa, it is only found at the Wessel and N’Chwaning Mines, northwest of Hotazel in the Kuruman district of the Northern Cape.
Apart from South Africa, sugilite also occur in brownish-yellow grains in Southwest Japan and as tiny pink crystals in the Madhya Pradesh Province in India.
Sugilite is used as inlays in jewellery and sometimes combined with precious stones such as diamonds. It is also carved and even faceted.

Garnet
The colour of this beautiful semi-precious stone is described as ‘red like a pomegranate’, which makes it a favourite for use in jewellery.
Gem-quality garnets are transparent to translucent. Transparent garnets are faceted, while semi-translucent and translucent garnets are cut as cabochons. This means they are cut in convex form and highly polished, but not faceted.
Variations in the composition of garnets produce a range of different species.

Jasper
This gemstone is a fine crystalline quartz, which is coloured by iron oxide. It has an opaque appearance and is usually red. However, it can also be brown, yellow and even green due to chlorite, which is quite rare.
Brecciated jasper is also known as zylite. Banded jasper is layered, with layer thickness varying from a few millimeters to more than 100 millimetres.
In South Africa, jasper is found in the Postmasburg, Kuruman and Hay districts of the Northern Cape.

Rodochrosite
This gemstone is also known as the ‘Inca rose’. It ranges in colour from pink to pale red to dark and brownish red due to the presence of manganese.
It occurs as irregular sheets due to sedimentary deposits of a chemical origin in the manganese mines of N’Chwaning and Hotazel.
The stones are sometimes faceted, but due to their softness, they are generally collected as crystal clusters.

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Sources:
Minerals and Gemstones of South Africa.
http://home.no.net/brad04/history/gems.pdf. Producers, dealers and processors of gemstones in South Africa. Minerals. Bureau, Department of Minerals and Energy, South Africa.