Killiecrankie Diamonds

'Killiecrankie Diamonds' are what whalers and sealers called the pure Topaz they found littering Killiecrankie Beach at Flinders Island, Tasmania, in the early 1800's: being the third-hardest substance, they couldn't scratch them with their harpoon steel, and because of the great heft of the waterworn pebbles, thought they were picking up bags of diamonds...!! Elesewhere in the world, Topaz is commonly yellow through brown, and although a beautiful stone, it is impurities which discolour them; in Tasmania, our 'Killiecrankie Diamonds' are only glacial blue through ice-white, and renowned for their purity. My wife's family originated in Flinders Island, five generations ago, and we have a holiday cottage there which some generations lived in. I collect the stones, and I cut them myself, too, twice having come second in the international 'The Gemmys' faceting competition in the United States; my son, Tyrus, and I, goldsmiths both, then hand-fabricate the settings in our Mason Signature Style, in our sandstone studio at historic Salamanca Place, Hobart, since 1986.