Gemological Characterization of Sapphires from Yogo Gulch, Montana

Abstract

Gulch, Montana, have produced millions of carats of rough sapphire. Much of that has yielded very small finished stones, and faceted stones over 1 ct are highly prized (figure 1). The largest known Yogo sapphire crystal was found in 1910 and weighed 19 ct (Howard, 1962a) The shape of Yogo rough is often in the form of flat tabular crystals that offer a very low yield. Large stones over 1 ct are almost exclusively collector stones, with the provenance having a significant impact on value. While there are other significant sources of gem-quality sapphire in Montana—including Rock Creek, Missouri River, and Dry Cottonwood Creek—Yogo sapphires are unique among these and other sapphire deposits worldwide (figure 2). Virtually all of the material produced has a desirable even blue to violet or purple color, often with higher clarity than sapphires from other deposits (Yaras, 1969) (figure 3). Yogo sapphires do not require heat treatment, offering a virtual guarantee of their untreated nature. They also possess a unique trace-element chemistry and an inclusion suite that makes them easily recognizable to the experienced gemologist. HISTORY In 1895, the Yogo sapphire deposit was accidentally discovered by a gold prospector named Jake Hoover. Hoover sought financial backing from two friends— local banker S.S. Hobson and Dr. Jim Bouvet, a veterinarian from Chicago—and the three formed a mining partnership. While recovering gold from his