Painite and Chondrodite, Pyrite, Ruby

Help improve this record

No owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.

This rare matrix specimen of painite is from a surprise find of the Covid years, that was found in Burma and sent to China for sale, as it was in with parcels of Ruby material sold to Chinese dealers. These are, seemingly, unreported widely in the western markets; but we purchased some in China. The crystallography and shape is very different in style from two previous large finds. That large, elongated crystals is 2 cm tall, preserved and protected by matrix. It has flashes of brown color to it when lit strongly. Painite is a rare species that is frankly legendary on the internet rankings of "rarest and most valuable gem species" even today because it was first identified from gem material - a cut stone! Specimens only were found later and rarely, exceptionally, does it come in crystals. Historically a few millimeter sized crystals were widely considered important up through the 1990s and valued highly. A single large discovery was made about 20 years ago (early 2000-ish) of larger crystals. They strip-mined a hill to mine it out, and then no more were found for a decade or so until 2012-14; and finally recently (this example from recent production consists of thin, elongated crystals frozen in matrix - yet another style entirely compared to past finds). Purchased in China by dumb luck, as I was dealing with a dealer in Rubies and Emeralds who had a small lot of these! Others seem to have sold to Chinese museums. Chondrodite, Pyrite, Ruby are in association on this beautiful display sized matrix piece.