Charoite

Colors of Charoite can range from a bright lovely lavender, a gentle lilac, a strong violet or a very grounded dark purple. Being new, and a bit unusual looking, with it’s lively colors, Charoite is often mistaken for a synthetic gemstone or a lesser gemstone that has been dyed.  In it’s short “life”, it has been mistaken for Sugilite as well as Lepidolite.

Charoite is quite an unusual stone of quite rare occurrence, found today in only one location in Russia.   Quite similar to the cylinders of a lock falling into place before a treasure can be revealed, Charoite was created with a very unique combination of chemically unique limestone, subjected to a chemically unique liquid intrusion and then exposed to a very unique set of physical conditions, which is likely why it has not be found in any other locations as of yet.

Charoite has been used as an ornamental stone as well as a gemstone. With the swirling patterns of interlocking crystals,  the look of charoite is unlike any other gemstone or minerals. It has the appearance of what some call purple marble, but truly it defies proper description.  It is likely that this incredible find would have gained much greater popularity over the years if it weren’t for it’s ‘synthetic’ looks. It is akin to finding a black flower,  it is simply unnaturally beautiful, defying common sense, and is difficult to explain.