Sugilite (rare)

Item Description

Sugilite is not often seen in faceted gems, and the purple manganese-bearing variety is only found in South Africa. Sugilite occurs a soft pinkish, tan, yellow or beige hues outside of the Kalahari Manganese Field, so the rich purple material is highly desirable. Once the royal purple color material was discovered in South Africa in 1975, it really opened up the market for gemstone collectors. Nowadays, Sugilite is not seen on the open market very much, and it's a shame because the color is amazingly distinctive and intense. The particular stone is a very rich purple color, "emerald" cut stone from this well known occurrence. Most rare gems are not exceptionally colorful, and this is a great stone to fill a spot in your collection. It is important to note that Sugilite was named after the Japanese petrologist, Ken-ichi Sugi and is pronounced with a hard "g" like in the word gold.