3.2" Polished Purple Charoite - Siberia

Charoite is a rare silicate mineral, first described in 1978 and named after the Chara River in Russia. It has been found only in the Sakha Republic of 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 is translucent lavender to purple in color with a pearly luster. It 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. It is almost always accompanied by a black mineral known as aegirine, as well as an orange mineral known as tinaksite.