PIETERSITE - stone of many colors !

Pietersite was discovered by Sid Pieters in 1962 while he was prospecting some farmland in Namibia, Africa. After his discovery, he registered the find in the mineral records of Great Britain. His discovery was published in 1964, and the material was named Pietersite. Currently there are only two known sources of Pietersite; Namibia and China. The Chinese form of pietersite is said to have been discovered in 1993, but did not come to market until 1997. The Chinese Pietersite exhibits slightly different color variations from Mr. Pieter's original mineral, but both are beautiful and are now universally recognized as Pietersite. Both are a magnificent, rare, colorful, semi-transparent gem stone.

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These two forms of pietersite are similar but still somewhat different from each other. The original African (Namibian) variety is mainly Crocidolite. The Chinese Pietersite's fibrous mineral Torendrikite is a magnesium-rich alkalic amphibole.

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Africa Pietersite colors include various blues, golds and reds, that may appear together or alone. Blue is the rarest color, followed by red. The blues range from a baby blue to dark midnight hue. Golds can be light to very deep and rich, sometimes having a reddish hue. All fibrous 3color variations will have a superb and striking chatoyancy, the bright and subtly changing shimmer of color that moves along the surface of a gemstone as it is viewed from varying angles. Chinese Pietersite has striking combinations of gold, red and blue color segments which sometimes also includes a deep golden brown color.

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Pietersite Pendants

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Regardless of the source, Pietersite will always have brecciated, fibrous bands of blue, gold and/or red tiger eye type fibers in quartz. The fibrous structure in Pietersite has been folded, stressed, even fractured and/or broken apart via the earth's geologic processes. The fibrous materials have then been reformed and naturally recemented together by quartz. Stones and crystals that go through this process are referred to as brecciated, creating a finished product with multiple colors, hues and superb chatoyancy. While Pietersite has the lovely chatoyancy of Tiger Eye, it is not found in continuously structured bands or fibers, more in swirls, swathes and fibrous (sometimes linear) segments. Thus the structure of the fibrous streaks in Pietersite may appear rather chaotic, and can flow or exist in many directions side-by-side like bold paint strokes. All fibrous color variations will have a superb and striking chatoyancy, the bright and subtly changing shimmer of color that moves along the surface of a gemstone as it is viewed from varying angles.

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Jewelry made from Pietersite can be as striking as it can be different with the many available colors.

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GEMSTONE JEWELRY - The many colors of Pietersite !

Many times all the colors found in a gemstone are not readily visable to the viewer. When using, especially a pendant in a jewelry piece, other gemstones and materials can be used to highlight the colors of the highlight or main stone.

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This jewelry piece fits that color pattern. The Pietersite shield shapped pendant contains the many colors that Pietersite is noted for, but until put with the Blue Foil Glass beads, the spots of blue in the Pietersite can be easily overlooked. The large Citrine nuggest then highlight the golden colors within the Pietersite. Copper highlights and clasp complete the necklace with copper French Hook cearrings finishing the set.

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Pietersite was discovered by Sid Pieters in 1962 while he was prospecting some farmland in Namibia, Africa. His discovery was published in 1964, and the material was named Pietersite. Currently there are only two known sources of Pietersite; China and Africa. These two forms of Pietersite are similar but still somewhat different from each other. The Chinese Pietersite's fibrous mineral is a magnesium-rich alkalic amphibole. The African (Namibian) variety is mainly Crocidolite. The China form of Pietersite is said to have been discovered in 1993, but did not come to market until 1997. This China Pietersite exhibits slightly different color variations from Mr. Pieter's original mineral, but both are beautiful and are now universally recognized as Pietersite. The material found in China was formed from a mineral very similar to Crocidolite, named Torendrikite. Chinese Pietersite has striking combinations of gold, red and blue color segments which sometimes also includes a deep golden brown color. Regardless of the source, Pietersite will always have brecciated, fibrous bands of blue, gold and/or red Tiger Eye type fibers in Quartz. The fibrous structure in Pietersite has been folded, stressed, even fractured and/or broken apart via the Earth's geologic processes. The fibrous materials have then been reformed and naturally recemented together by Quartz. Stones and crystals that go through this process are referred to as brecciated, creating a finished product with multiple colors, hues and superb chatoyancy. While Pietersite has the lovely chatoyancy of Tiger Eye, it is not found in continuously structured bands or fibers, more in swirls, swathes and fibrous (sometimes linear) segments. Thus the structure of the fibrous streaks in Pietersite may appear rather chaotic, and can flow or exist in many directions side-by-side like bold paint strokes. Colors include various blues, golds and reds, that may appear together or alone. Blue is the rarest color, followed by red. The blues range from a baby blue to dark midnight hue. Golds can be light to very deep and rich, sometimes having a reddish hue. All fibrous color variations will have a superb and striking chatoyancy, the bright and subtly changing shimmer of color that moves along the surface of a gemstone as it is viewed from varying angles.

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Citrine is a variety of Quartz whose color ranges from a pale yellow to brown. Citrine normally is found in faceted cut stones, but also in quite common in chip form. Natural Citrines are rare; most commercial Citrines are heat-treated Amethysts or Smoky Quartz. It is nearly impossible to tell cut citrine from yellow Topaz visibly, but they differ in hardness. Citrine has ferric impurities, and is rarely found naturally. Brazil is the leading producer of Citrine, with much of its production coming from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The name is derived from Latin 'citrina' which means "yellow" and is also the origin of the word "citron." Sometimes Citrine and Amethyst can be found together in the same crystal and is referred to as Ametrine which primarily comes from Bolivia, but some has been found in India.

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More Stones to Look for at Tucson 2009 !

As Tucson 2009 is now upon us, lets take a look at a few more polished stones that make great accent pieces for necklaces.

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Wild Horse Magnestite from Arizona and Colorado.

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This particular banded Rhodochrosite comes from an old Silver Mine in Capillitas, Argentina.

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Pietersite from mines in Nimibia, Africa. Do not confuse with lower quality Chinese Pietersite of the same color.

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Petrified Wood from the American Southwest.

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Dendritic Agate from Brazil.

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