Peculiar Pearls & Other Oddities – Three Rare Gems

Red diamonds are among the rarest of the rare, but have you ever heard of the three gems below? This is not to say that they are not worthy of notice. Two of them capture the imagination with mind-boggling attributes; the other shines by virtue of its off-the-beaten path origins. Their given names are poetic or powerful. Let’s begin with the poetic Benitoite – pronounced, “beni-too-at.” It is odd that we should not see this gem more frequently in American-made jewelry creations since it is California’s state gem. It is mined near the San Benito River in San Benito County. As you might imagine, scientists and gem enthusiasts subject their treasured finds to all manners of tests in an effort to fully understand and properly identify them. Benitoite revealed its true colors under UV lights, and stunningly so. When thus lit, it turns to an indescribably beautiful fluorescent blue. The reason for this, it turns out, has yet to be fully understood. Poudretteite is next – pronounced, “poo-dret-tay-it.” You have read many articles on this blog about gems from around the world and by now have surely recognized a pattern: most gems used in modern jewelry typically come from the United States, South America, Eastern Europe or Africa. Poudretteite was discovered north of our borders, at Mount Saint Hilaire, in the province of Quebec. This region is part of a small chain of ancient volcanic mountains, and thus an environment that is favorable to the creation of gem-quality stones. However, Poudretteite, which is named after the family that owns the mines where it is found, was not officially discovered until 1960. It is suspected that this attractive gem caught the attention of Native people and settlers of centuries past. Lastly, Alexandrite the powerful. It is, after all, a regal name and this one is straight out of a fantasy story. You see, Alexandrite changes from red to green depending on the light under which it is viewed. By this we do not mean depending on the angle of the light, but rather on the type of light. It is blue-green under sunlight. Bring it inside under incandescent light and suddenly you are holding a red, or nearly purple gem in you hand. Purple is the color of royalty. Alexandrite seems to wear a cloak of natural green when outside among the people of the world, but it changes to its regal purplish cloak when returned within four walls; like a king back from a leisurely walk. More Peculiar Pearls & Other Oddities Articles

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