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<img src="/images/Tenner-Diniz-300.png" border="1" hspace="4" align="right" />Rocks & Co. is thrilled to announce that Tenner Diniz, one of the worlds most experienced lapidaries, will be making another special guest appearance this weekend. A lapidary is a virtuoso skilled in the art of cutting, polishing and engraving gemstones, an art form Tenner has mastered during his six years in the gemstone business. Affectionately nicknamed ‘Fiver’, Tenner will be on Rocks & Co. from 11am Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Key highlights are his launch of Dumortierite 11am Friday and Mexican Fire Opal 7pm Sunday.<br /><br />Colloquially known as the ‘blue denim stone’ because of its deep royal blues, Dumortierite was discovered in 1881 by the French mineralogist M.F. Gonnard, who named it after the French palaeontologist Eugène Dumortier. Although very attractive with durability well-suited to everyday jewellery, Dumortierite is not well-known, mainly due to the rarity of its finer qualities. Prized amongst savvy connoisseurs for the intensity of its popular colour, most Dumortierite is actually pale blue. The Brazilian Dummortierite launched this Friday on Rocks & Co. is the rare top colour, intense bright royal ‘denim’ blues. With excellent cutting typified by attractive domes, about 20 percent of the cabochons have been finished with checker board faceting.<br /><br />Judging by the numerous requests received by Rocks & Co., the radiant mandarin oranges of Mexican Fire Opal continues to enjoy huge popularly. The birthplace of Mexican Opal is the mountain ranges of the state of Querétaro. There are about 100 mines in the area, but most of these are now closed making it increasingly difficult to obtain fine examples. The Mexican Fire Opal premiered by Tenner is from Querétaro’s oldest producing mine, Santa Maria del Iris, a source noted for producing the area’s best quality. Gorgeous, rare and extremely collectable, the colour, cut and clarity of this Mexican Fire Opal is exceptional. As most Mexican Opal seen on the market in the past few years are small, lower grade gems, an average size of 14.96 carats is truly amazing, markedly increasing both their rarity and desirability.<br /><br />Tenner’s other highlights include; Exotic Gems Hours 11am Saturday and Sunday; Tanzanite Hours 12pm Friday and 12pm & 8pm Saturday; ‘Colours of Life’ 1pm Friday and 4pm Saturday; and Pink Hours 9pm Friday and 5pm Saturday. There will be more surprises so make sure you’re watching!<br /><br />Don’t miss Tenner Diniz this weekend on Sky channel 642, where he’ll give you his perspective on the gemstones sold at Rocks & Co. Do you have a question for Tenner? Either text him on 82222 (just put STUDIO followed by your question) or e-mail <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.