CHAROITE

The Charoite deposit Sirenevyi Kamen has only been known for less than 40 years, and this is the only location in the world where this material was found. The region in which charoite was discovered is rather difficult to reach. It is located in the Murun Mountains in Yakutia, Russia. Charoite was found and explored by Russian geologists Vera P. Rogova and Yuri G. Rogov in the end of 1950s, but only in 1978 the name charoite was confirmed by the Commission on New Mineral Species.

Charoite has a glorious purple color with the unique pattern of swirls, feathers and needles. It may contain patches or stars of black (Aegerine), orange (Tinaksite) and also transparent crystals (Microcline Feldspar). This material is actually a silicate of potassium, calcium and sodium [K(Na, Ca)11(Ba, Sr)Si18O46 (OH, F)-nH2O]. It ranks 5.0 on the Moh's Scale of Hardness. Its density is approximately 2.5 - 2.8.

Charoite is the stone of transformation. It is the soul stone that overcomes fear. It stimulates inner vision and spiritual insight helping one to change at the spiritual level...

DO YOU KNOW THAT: the fact that charoite was named after the Chara river in Yakutia may be wrong. The nearest bends of the Chara river are located about 70 km from the occurrence. Most probably charoite was named because of the impression that it gives: Chary in Russian means charms or magic.

The price of charoite depends strongly on its quality. The most precious extra charoite of deep violet color with nice feather structure and almost without inclusions is now very difficult to find. Even lower quality material, with a lot of block or yellow spots, is becoming rare today. Another important thing about charoite is its behavior during cutting and polishing. If you want to buy a piece of rough material not to put it on the shelf but to make something out of it - you should be very careful by choosing. Charoite is very easy to be broken apart while cutting. The most stable is so-called plastic charoite but it is less attractive at the same time.