Painite (Gem Crystal) (ultra rare)

Item Description

Every once in a while I like to throw a gem CRYSTAL into the gemstone auctions, including some very rare crystals like Painite! Next to Phosphophyllite, Painite is considered one of the "Holy Grail" of rare gemstones and one of the rarest minerals on the planet. It was named after its discoverer, British gemologist Arthur Charles Davy Pain. Believe it or not, the Guinness Book of World Records has described Painite as THE rarest gem mineral. Discovered in Burma in the early 1950's, from 1956 until 1979 only three crystals of this hexagonal mineral were known to exist! Recently, in Burma, there has been a new find of what is the largest discovery of this super rare gem. 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 CaZrBAl9O18. 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 piece is not a faceted stone, but a small gem quality crystal of Painite with a beautiful brown cognac hue. The color shows up well when the crystal is backlit. Keep in mind that this is extremely rare material. Please note that despite the great hardness of the material, it is somewhat brittle. Due to the tremendous rarity of this material, faceted stones of Painite are now legitimately retailing for $4,000-$5,000 per carat