Judging quality
Namibian material shows the deepest blue with dramatic swirling. Look for strong multi-directional chatoyancy rather than flat color, and a flawless polish.
Quartz
Pietersite
A brecciated chatoyant quartz in which fragments of tiger's eye and hawk's eye were shattered and recemented, producing swirling storm-like chatoyancy.
Care
Durable but fractured internally. Avoid ultrasonic cleaning.
History & lore
Discovered in Namibia in 1962 by Sid Pieters and named for his father.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Pietersite
- What is Pietersite?
- A brecciated chatoyant quartz in which fragments of tiger's eye and hawk's eye were shattered and recemented, producing swirling storm-like chatoyancy.
- How hard is Pietersite and what is it made of?
- Pietersite is a Quartz-family mineral with the composition SiO2 with amphibole. It crystallizes in the trigonal system and rates 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in blue, gold, storm grey.
- Where does Pietersite come from?
- Notable localities for Pietersite include Namibia, China.
- How do you tell good Pietersite from filler?
- Namibian material shows the deepest blue with dramatic swirling. Look for strong multi-directional chatoyancy rather than flat color, and a flawless polish.
- How do you care for Pietersite?
- Durable but fractured internally. Avoid ultrasonic cleaning.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.