Sepang
by Tom Herbst

This is the first of a series of gemstones inspired by Formula 1 Grand Prix races and the countries that host them.

Sepang is the beautiful new Malaysian circuit on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The most distinctive feature of Sepang is the Tower Grandstand, with its soaring roof inspired by the hibiscus, the national flower of Malaysia.

At right is an 8 mm, 1.7 carat Sepang cut in slightly included Tanzanian mandarine garnet.

At left is the tower grandstand and its spectacular roof. This is at the final, hairpin turn. The start-finish line lies just beyond the grandstand in this view.
View of the tower grandstand roof from the last, hairpin turn. This is the view that inspired the Sepang gemstone design.

 

GemCAD and GemRay output for Sepang appear below. The GemCAD file is available here.