The Ocean Blue Story
In the Spring of 2023, the Coromoto Mining team at Mount Mica, (the oldest gemstone mine in America, located in Paris, Maine), broke into the most incredible pocket of tourmaline ever discovered at the site.
This world famous quarry has been in operation since its discovery in 1820, the year Maine became a state. It has produce an endless list of incredible things- the first occurrence of gem tourmaline in North America, the largest faceted tourmaline gemstone in North America, the first occurrence in the world of pink quartz crystals, the gemstones used in America's most famous and most valuable native gemstone heirloom necklace... this list goes on.
But in April of 2023, Mount Mica surrendered her most incredible treasure ever to the Coromoto Mining team: a pocket of pure, exquisite blue tourmaline.
Blue is the rarest color of tourmaline and the most valuable. It needs exactly the right amount of iron in its molecular makeup. To little and it won't be blue. Too much and it will be too dark and look black. But this pocket, unlike any other major pocket ever discovered in Maine, had exactly the right amount of iron. The blue was perfect.
The color is spectacular- reminiscent of Atlantic Ocean waters and New England cloudless skies. We are calling it "Ocean Blue" and it is the very best color tourmaline that Maine has ever produced.
It wasn't easy, getting to this deposit of gem crystals although the miners knew it was there. Two years earlier, test hole drilling had revealed that there was a void in the solid rock, dozens of feet down. Air pressure designed to blow debris from the hole had actually blown an Ocean Blue Tourmaline crystal up and out of the ground, undeniable proof of incredible treasure waiting below. The test hole that produced this tantalizing crystal was in fact a last minute afterthought, no other test hole had indicated anything promising so... "hey, let's drill one last hole in the parking lot where we keep the mining equipment ". And there it was. But...
So far underground. The mining team spent two full years tunneling through the bedrock toward the deposit that they knew was waiting for them. Every day drilling, blasting, shoveling, chiseling... inching forward. Muddy, cold, wet, miserable. It was there ahead somewhere. If they had not known this, they never would have made the herculean effort required to reach it. But they knew. And they did it. Finally, one random day in April, two full years after they had located the deposit, they broke into the chamber.
Within this small cavity in the solid rock, a miracle awaited them: perfect gem tourmaline, the best that Mount Mica had ever offered. A shoebox amount of Ocean Blue colored, clean, lovely and precious tourmaline crystals.
The gemstones that are cut from them are exquisite. Vibrant, scintillating, lovely works of handcrafted art. When made into jewelry, nothing less than cherished heirlooms.
This discovery is historic, something that will become part of the gemstone heritage of our wonderful state. The supply is limited. Approximately two thousand grams of Ocean Blue tourmaline was recovered. The resulting finished gemstones from this discovery would barely fill your cupped hands.
While other major discoveries of Maine gemstones are certainly possible, nothing of this nature is even remotely likely. We will be cutting gemstones from this find until there are no more to cut.
Don't wait to own a piece of this natural treasure!