Pietersite
Other Silicates & Gemstones
Pietersite is a trade name for chatoyant chalcedony containing irregularly oriented amphibole fibers. Its broken, folded-looking patches of blue, gold, brown, and red create a turbulent sheen rather than the straighter band seen in tiger's eye.
Identity
- Material or variety
- Chalcedony
- Scientific or material identity
- Chalcedony (microcrystalline quartz)
- Classification
- Natural mineral or mineral variety
- Aliases or trade names
- Tempest stone
- Composition or formula
- SiO₂
- Crystal system or structure
- Aggregate or composite structure
- Geological or manufacturing origin
- Forms from silica- or mineral-rich fluids in cavities and fractures.
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5 to 7
- Specific gravity
- 2.58 to 2.64
Origins
Namibia · China
Appearance & optical properties
stormy blue and gold pietersite with chatoyant swirls.
History & discovery
Sid Pieters described the material from Namibia in 1962, and pietersite was named for him. Comparable material was reported from China in 1966. Although often compared with tiger's eye, its chaotic fiber arrangement and brecciated appearance distinguish the lapidary material.
Uses & care
- Common uses
- Pietersite is shaped mainly as cabochons, beads, spheres, and carvings so a broad polished surface can display its shifting chatoyant patches.
- Handling and cleaning
- Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Protect it from hard blows and abrupt heating; fractures and fiber-rich zones make steam or ultrasonic cleaning a poor choice despite chalcedony's good scratch resistance.
Jewellery
6 pieces of Pietersite jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.
Tempest Ring
Ring
A silver ring set with a dome of pietersite whose blue and gold ribbons swirl like storm clouds. The cabochon is cut across the grain to gather the fibrous flash into one eye.
Storm-Eye Pendant
Pendant
A teardrop pietersite framed in darkened silver, the stone's crossed bands forming a cat's-eye glow that seems to move with the wearer.
Namib Cuff
Bracelet
A broad brushed-silver cuff inlaid with a rectangular pietersite panel the colour of a dust storm over the Namib. The stone's gold threads catch the light at the wrist.
Cyclone Brooch
Brooch
A pinwheel brooch of white gold whose eight curled rays are set with narrow pietersite slips, so the whole turns in blue and amber. It was designed for a coat lapel.
Storm Cloud Earrings
Earrings
An imagined pair of earrings set with pietersite, its blue-grey and golden fibres folded like the clouds of a coming storm.
Tempest Crown
Crown
An imagined gold crown set with pietersite, whose blue and golden fibres swirl like a storm seen from above.