Handmade gemstone jewelry - Charoite

Charoite is a fairly rare gemstone and is not commonly seen. It has a lot of depth and is a mixture of light to dark purple in swirling patterns and a shiny chatoyant quality. The colors range from bright lavender, violet and lilac to dark purple. It is such a beautiful, interesting gemstone.

Charoite is found only in the Murun mountains in Yakutia, in the Charo River Valley, part of Siberian Russia. This area has such a forbidding climate and rugged terrain that political prisoners were banished there during the days of the Soviet Union as almost the ultimate punishment.

Charoite was first found in the 1940's, and called "lilac stone". it wasn't introduced to the market until 1978, and was then called charoite. Charoite is formed from limestone in a process called "contact metamorphism". Because this is a relatively common geologic phenomenon it is not understood why charoite is not found elsewhere. The prevailing thought is that the combination of limestone and other chemicals in that location is unique.

The structure of charoite is so complex that scientists don't know exactly how it is formed or the reason for its purple color. Charoite is believed to release negative emotions and enhance positive ones. It is believed to be a stone of inspiration and to bring courage to those who wear it.The hardness of charoite is between 5 and 6 on the Moh's scale of hardness, with 10 being the hardest.