Description
Pietersite was discovered by Sid Pieters in 1962 while he was prospecting some farmland in Namibia, Africa. After his discovery, he recorded 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: African and Chinese. Pietersite is considered a form of tiger's eye, having the same properties as tiger's eye but with different patterns due to its brecciated formation. The fibrous structure in Pietersite is collapsed, stressed, even fractured, and/or broken apart via the Earth's geological processes. The fibrous materials are then reformed and naturally recemented together by quartz. Stones and crystals produced by this process are referred to as brecciated, creating a final product with multiple colors, hues, and beautiful chatoyancy. While Pietersite has the beautiful chatoyancy of tiger's eye, it is not found in continuously structured bands. Rather, it can form in swirls, bandages, and fibrous (sometimes linear) segments. Thus, the structure of the fibrous streaks in Pietersite appear quite chaotic, and can flow or exist in many directions side-by-side like bold paint strokes. African Pietersite is the most sought after Pietersite because of its wide range of colors. Colors include various blues, reds, and golds, which can appear together or alone. Blue is the rarest color, followed by red. The blues range from a baby blue to a dark midnight hue. Golds can be light to very deep and rich, sometimes with a reddish tint. All fibrous color variations will have a beautiful and striking chatoyancy, the slight and subtle change of sheen or color that moves along the surface of a gemstone as it is viewed from different angles. Chinese Pietersite is said to have been discovered in 1993 but did not come onto the market until 1997. Chinese Pietersite shows slightly different variations in color and patterns than the Pietersite found in Africa. The colors are primarily gold and bronze, as seen in the photos on the right, but can also be found in shades of blue.
