BOB & NANCY HICKS RANCH
OLD STOCK
CHAROITE
PURPLE STONE
PENDANT
LAPIDARY JEWELRY
DIGGINGS FROM YAKUTIA RUSSIA
THE CHARY RIVER
GEM SILICA
FREE FORM / "ROUND" PENDANT
MEASURES ABOUT 1.5" X 1.5"
STUNNING LAPIDARY WORK
CABACHON POLISHED FACE / ROUGH BACK
STERLING SILVER WIRE WRAP
#148
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FYI
Charoite (K(Ca,Na)2Si4O10(OH,F)·H2O) is a rare silicate mineral, first described in 1978 and named for the Chara River. It has been reported only from the Sakha Republic, Siberia, Russia. It is found where a syenite of the Murunskii Massif has intruded into and altered limestone deposits producing a potassium feldspar metasomatite.
Charoite was named after Yakutia's Chary River, the location in which it was first discovered, circa 1940. Despite its actual discovery first being made sometime during the 1940s, it's considered a relatively new gemstone, as it was not introduced on a commercial level until 1978. To this day, the Murun complex in the Sakha Republic, Siberia, has been the sole source of charoite gemstones.
Charoite forms from deposits of limestone transformed through heat, pressure and the infusion of unique chemicals (alkali-rich nephline syenite intrusions). This process is known as 'contact metamorphism' and it's considered to be a common geological phenomenon. Considering that the process of formation is quite common, the reason why charoite occurrences are rare and limited only to the small region from which they are mined has never been fully understood.
Charoite is translucent lavender to purple in color with a pearly luster. Charoite is strictly massive in nature, and fractures are conchoidal. It has an unusual swirling, fibrous appearance, sometimes chatoyant, and that, along with its intense color, can lead many to believe at first that it is synthetic or enhanced artificially.
Though reportedly discovered in the 1940s, it was not known to most of the world until its description in 1978. It is said to be opaque and unattractive when found in the field; a fact that may have contributed to its late recognition.
Charoite occurs in association with tinaksite and canasite.
Charoitite, a charoite-dominated potassic metasomatite rock from the type area.
Charoite is a relatively new stone on the market, but only on a commercial level. Since ancient times, charoite minerals have been used for healing and ceremonial purposes. Mongols were known to create ornamental objects from charoite and they ceremoniously boiled stones into tea, which would be consumed with the belief that it could strengthen the ties of family and community, while providing all members with protection from evil spirits.
Often called the 'stone of transformation' and 'the stone of power', charoite earned its pseudonyms through its ability to transform negative emotions into positive feelings of well-being. It is also thought to encourage inner-strength and assertiveness. As a stone of inspiration, charoite is believed to enhance creativity, spirituality and self-esteem. It is a very soulful stone, often used for grounding the spiritual-self, ideal for opening and balancing of the crown, third eye and solar plexus chakras.
Physically, charoite is thought to help with the healing of various injuries or disorders, including alcoholism and liver disorders, muscular cramps and headaches, as well as the alleviation of heart, eye and nerve problems. It is believed to help regulate blood pressure and assist with insomnia by inducing powerful but positive dreams.
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A lapidary (the word means "concerned with stones") is an artist or artisan who forms stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials (amber, shell, jet, pearl, copal, coral, horn and bone, glass and other synthetics) into decorative items such as engraved gems, including cameos, or cabochons, and faceted designs. Hardstone carving is the term in art history for the objects produced and the craft. Diamond cutters are generally not referred to as lapidaries, due to the specialized techniques which are required to work diamond. Gemcutter typically refers to diamond cutters or producers of faceted jewels in modern contexts, but artists producing engraved gems, jade carvings and the like in older historical contexts.
The arts of a sculptor or stonemason do not generally fall within the definition, though chiseling inscriptions in stone, and preparing laboratory 'thin sections' may be considered lapidary arts. But, figurative engraved gems and cameos are certainly the work of artists. In modern contexts, the term is most commonly associated with jewelry and decorative household items (e.g. bookends, clock faces, ornaments, etc.) A specialized form of lapidary work is the inlaying of marble and gemstones into a marble matrix, known in English as "pietra dura" for the hardstones like onyx, jasper and carnelian that are used, but called in Florence and Naples, where the technique was developed in the 16th century, opere di commessi. The Medici Chapel at San Lorenzo in Florence is completely veneered with inlaid hard stones. The specialty of "micromosaics", developed from the late 18th century in Naples and Rome, in which minute slivers of glass are assembled to create still life, cityscape views and the like, is sometimes covered under the umbrella term of lapidary. In China, lapidary work specializing in jade carving has been continuous since at least the Shang dynasty.
Apart from figurative carving, there are three broad categories of lapidary arts. These are the procedures of tumbling, cabochon cutting, and faceting. The distinction is somewhat loose, and leaves a broad range within the term cabochon. The picture to the left is of a rural, commercial cutting operation in Thailand. This small factory cuts thousands of carats of sapphire annually.
Most lapidary work is done using motorized equipment and resin or metal bonded diamond tooling in successively decreasing particle sizes until a polish is achieved. Often, the final polish will use a different medium, such as tin oxide, glasitite or cerium(IV) oxide. Older techniques, still popular with hobbyists, used bonded grinding wheels of silicon carbide, with only using a diamond tipped saw. Diamond cutting, because of the extreme hardness of diamonds, cannot be done with silicon carbide, and requires the use of diamond tools.
There are also many other forms of lapidary, not just cutting and polishing stones and gemstones. These include: casting, faceting, carving, jewellery, mosaics (eg. little slices of opal on potch, obsidian or another black stone and with a clear dome (glass or crystal quartz) on top. There are lapidary clubs throughout the world. In Australia there are numerous gemshows including an annual gemshow, the Gemborree which is a nation-wide lapidary competition. There is a collection of gem and mineral shows held in Tucson, Arizona, at the beginning of February each year. This group of shows constitutes the largest gem and mineral event in the world. The event was originally started with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society Show and has now grown to include dozens of other independent shows.
(THIS PICTURE FOR DISPLAY ONLY)
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