VICTORIA STONE

Victoria Stone is one of those materials that immediately captures the attention of observers because of its inherent beauty and also because of its increasing scarcity on the market.

- BY BEN KANIUTH

The internal structure is mesmerizing. It draws your eyes into soft, swirling patterns beneath a shiny, glassy polish that sets it apart from both natural and synthetic counterparts. This unmistakable stone has inspired and influenced many synthetic stones over the years, though none have captured the chatoyant, fluid movements and glow like the original. What adds to the allure is its large array of colors, from vibrant emerald greens, ocean blues, rich purples, gray, black and white. Each shade is unique. Finding workable material today is a challenge and every finished cabochon is a nod to a past era.

THE LEGACY BEHIND DR. IMORI

First produced in the late 1960s, Dr. Imori, a skilled chemist with a passion for lapidary, sought to create a manmade stone that could rival the beauty of natural gemstones.

With his desire and background, he experimented with many mineral compounds and techniques until he achieved the formula that produced Victoria Stone. This involved trial and error, with many hours spent experimenting with various minerals such as quartz and feldspar. These minerals were subjected to high pressure and heat, then cooled over a period of time. This process allowed them to crystallize into the chatoyant fan-like structures within the stone.