Painite (exceptionally rare)

Item Description

In the world of gem collecting, certain people prefer to specialize in rare stones. Even within the category of rare gems, there are a few in the world that are considered to be among the "rarest gems in existence". Painite is certainly one of those stones, and you'll see it pop up on a lot of Top 10 Rarest Gems lists, alongside species like Phosphophyllite, Jeremejevite, Taaffeite, Poudretteite, and Grandidierite. Painite is considered one of the "Holy Grails" of rare gemstones, and for a time (prior to 2005), there were only a few confirmed pieces 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 to exist ! Painite was named after its discoverer, British gemologist Arthur Charles Davy Pain. 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. 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 from this area, now that it has been mined out, plus the fact that mining in Mogok has been completely halted due to political upheaval in Myanmar.
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 visible inclusions in this gem, but the color is decent, which is acceptable in this extremely rare material. Please note that despite the great hardness of the material, it is somewhat brittle. Keep in mind that because of the tremendous rarity of this material, Painite is now legitimately retailing for up to $10,000 per carat, but I wouldn't put that kind of value on this stone.