Size/Shape

Cutting

Proportions

Color

Clarity

Origin

Treatment

Weight

9.0 x 5.2mm Pear

'Portuguese' Facet Pattern - No Nicks or Scratches

3.6mm Thickness, Full Brilliance, Not Windowed

Nearly Colorless at Round End, Medium Blue at the Point

Moderately Included with Numerous Veils

Ameib Ranch, Erongo Mountains, Karibib, Namibia

No Treatment, 100% Natural

1.01 Carats

Jeremejevite was discovered in the late 1800s at Mt. Soktuj in the Transbaikal region of Russia.  The mineral is named after Russian mineralogist Pavel V. Jeremejev, who lived from 1830 until 1899.

The chemical formula is Al₆[(F, OH)₃(BO₃)₅].  Jeremejevite is durable with no cleavage and a Moh's hardness of around 7. 

In the early 1970s, Jeremejevite was discovered at the Mile 72 Marker in the Swakopmund District in central Namibia.  There have since been minor finds in Germany, Tajikistan, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka.  As well, a 2006 discovery in Mogok, Burma, produced colorless and pale yellow terminated crystals, some of which were facetable.

Blue Jeremejevite is the most sought after color, and as far as we know, it only occurs in Namibia.  A significant deposit of blue Jeremejevite was discovered in 2001 in the Ameib Ranch area of the Erongo Mountains, Karibib District, Namibia.  Beautiful crystals were found, some with terminations, but quantities were limited, and large gemmy areas suitable for faceting were elusive.

In the Spring of 2010, an old pit was reportedly re-explored, and a new pocket of Jeremejevite crystals was found at the Ameib Ranch.  Our visit to the Ameib Ranch in November, 2008, enabled us to gain valuable contacts with miners and dealers directly involved with Jeremejevite mining.

As a result of our contacts in the area, we have acquired some good rough from this most recent find.  As always, the number of large and/or clean gems will be limited.  We will work carefully, however, to get the best stones we can from this rough, aiming to impress even the most experienced collectors of fine and unusual gems.

Additional information on Jeremejevite can be found at www.mindat.org, and photos of cut stones, including one we bought in Burma, can be seen at www.realgems.org.\  GIA prepared a detailed article on Jeremejevite in the Autumn 2001 issue of Gems and Gemology.