Ruby in Zoisite with Silver Bib Necklace;

Striking "bib" necklace.  5 well cut pieces of Ruby in Zoisite, surrounded by green garnet teardrop stones ... and there are a bunch of them - green garnets in several shades.  

Weight:  6.6 oz (191 grams)    Chain length: 14"     Bar and loop closure.  Set in "sterling" silver.   This silver alloy is one of the newer tarnish resistant mixes (less or no copper).  Superb stone work!  It was imported directly from one of India's most reputable stone cutting houses.

Ruby in zoisite is a metamorphic rock composed of red corundum crystals embedded in green zoisite. 
Due to its striking appearance, this stone is widely used for jewelry.  However, the difference in hardness between the corundum and zoisite can make working with it difficult.

On the Mohs scale of hardness, zoisite grades 6.5 while corundum grades 9. Diamond, the hardest mineral on Earth, grades 10 on the Mohs scale.   Gem-grade red corundum is called ruby, while all other colors are known as sapphire.

This is another from a "collection" of these types I brought in when I opened the store in downtown Amarillo.  It was anticipation of the customers I thought would come ... but as it turned out they just didn't drive into downtown Amarillo to shop.   These pieces have been in the vault for years.  

They were well priced before; now they are ..... even better bargains.