Painite (exceptionally rare)

Item Description

When you categorize rare gemstones, there are a few in the world that are considered to be among the "rarest gems in existence". Certainly, Painite is one of those stones, it will often appear on lot of "Top 10 Rarest Gems" lists, alongside species like Phosphophyllite, Jeremejevite, Taaffeite, Poudretteite, Benitoite and Grandidierite. Painite is considered one of the "Holy Grails" of rare gemstones (which is kind of an oxymoron since there really should only be ONE Holy Grail, but I digress) For decades (prior to 2005), there were only a few confirmed pieces of Painite ever found. The species was discovered in Myanmar in the early 1950's, from 1956 until 1979 only three crystals of this hexagonal mineral were known ! Painite was named after its discoverer, British gemologist Arthur Charles Davy Pain, and the type example can be found in the British Museum. After 2005, there were more discoveries of this super rare gem in a few localities in Myanmar. This is the result of years of laborious detective work, long days of digging and mining the few hills and sorting each and every crystal and fragment by hand. It is doubtful that there will be any more Painite, ever! Chemically, Painite is a calcium zirconium borate, however, it also contains minor amounts of chromium and vanadium and traces of iron that contribute to the orange-red to brownish-red color of the mineral. This particular gem, is a nice golden brown color "Round" cut stone. It is very difficult to find stones with good transparency and rich color. Most gems are almost too dark to see any color and appear "black". The color shows up in this stone when STRONGLY backlit. Also, the majority of cut Painites are less than 1/4 carat, so this stone is not small by Painite standards at all ! There are some very very slight inclusions in this gem, and the color is good for the size. This is extremely rare material even in this size, and should be appreciated as such. Please note that despite the great hardness of the material, Painite is somewhat brittle, so be careful if you put it into jewelry. Keep in mind that because of the tremendous rarity of Painite, it is now legitimately retailing for up to $10,000 per carat, though I wouldn't put that kind of value on this stone.