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Charoite

A swirling lilac-purple silicate known from only one place on Earth.

Charoite specimen
Photo: Piotr Sosnowski, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify charoite

  • Swirling, silky purple with chatoyant streaks.
  • Black and orange specks of other minerals.
  • Hardness about 5.5.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Chara River, Siberia, Russia

Uses

Carvings, beads and cabochons.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

It was only described in 1978, from the Murun massif along Siberia's Chara River.

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