Awesome lot of RARE EARTH ELEMENT Quartz Cabs from the famous Zagi Mountains in Pakistan! I don't think that the Zagi/Zegi Mountains need any introduction but, for those of you that haven't heard of them, that is the famous locality for the Bastnaesite/Parasite coming from Pakistan amongst a host of other rare earth element minerals. These Cabs were cut for the unusual inclusions the Quartz crystals exhibited. Most stones exhibit Astrophyllite and Reibeckite Inclusions that mimic Tourmaline and Rutile inclusions commonly found in Brazil.

This lot was an oddity we picked up to support a local cutter! This material was cabbed in Pakistan and is composed of oval cut stones for the most part. The stones average about 25 carats and the cutting is definitely decent for most of these. Going cutting rates around Pakistan are usually around $.20 per carat for similar material and the parcel is a steal for the price.

1. Cutting rates in Peshawar, Pakistan are dependent on the type of material being cut. This is true for both Faceting and/or Cabbing charges. In addition, there are cutters who charge higher rates because of their superior work product whereas there are others who cut such a large volume of stones that there isn't much attention paid to every stone. Current cutting rates in Peshawar for material similar to this run from $.15-$.50 per carat. The higher end of the cost is usually for custom cut stones of better quality.