Mawsitsit
Chromium-Rich Cousin of Burmese Jadeite
A rare, durable stone with vivid green color and intricate patterning.
A relatively rare, Chromium-rich cousin of Burmese Jadeite, Mawsitsit is known for its vivid green tone, interesting patterning and Jade-like toughness and durability. We select our rough personally in Burma, buying directly from independent mine owners. All of our Mawsitsit cabochons are produced, including matched pairs and sets, with top shaping and polish here in Bangkok.
Mawsitsit is named for its source location, the small village of Mawsitsit, located just a few kilometers from the town of Hpakant, in remote NW Burma, famed for the Imperial Jadeite found there.
Mawsitsit comes from the same deposit as the prized Imperial Jadeite. Click here to see an historic map of the Hpakant area's Jadeite deposits.
The village of Mawsitsit is located on the north end of this most famous of the world's commercial Jadeite deposits. Here, during formation, there was a local over-abundance of Chromium, causing a variation from the prized and more familiar Imperial Jadeite.
Only found in one deposit on earth, Mawsitsit is composed mainly of a Chromium-rich mineral, Ureyite, and Albite, another mineral found along with Jadeite.
Jadeite = NaAlSi2O6
Ureyite = NaCrSi2O6
Albite = NaAlSi3O8
If you replace the Aluminum in Jadeite's structure with Chromium, the resulting mineral is Ureyite.
Ureyite, rare on earth, is also known to occur in some meteorites, resulting in a second name for the mineral, Kosmochlor. In its pure form, it is very dark green, approaching black.
Unusual Circumstances leading to the formation of Mawsitsit
Mawsitsit is a low-temperature, high-pressure metamorphic rock. It was formed deep in the earth, and millions of years ago, when heat and pressure were applied to rock containing too much Chromium to become Jade. Instead of Jadeite and Albite interacting to form Imperial Jade, as they did a few kilometers away, Ureyite and Albite interacted to form Mawsitsit.
The heat and pressure caused, at the edges of the Ureyite and Albite masses, a partial blending of the two minerals. It is this bright Chromium-green blend of dark, nearly black pure Ureyite, and light colored Albite, that Mawsitsit is known for.
The heat and pressure of formation was also strong enough to create interesting, beautiful flowing or banded patterns of dark Ureyite, clear or white Albite, and the bright green blend of the two minerals. Fortunately, the heat and pressure were not intense enough, or sustained long enough, for the minerals to completely homogenize.
Other minerals are sometimes present as well, sometimes including metallic black spots of pure Chromite. Mawsitsit is reported to have the highest concentration of Chromium found in any rock on earth.
A very durable and tough rock, much like Jadeite, Mawsitsit has a hardness of around 6.5 on Moh's Scale, and it takes a fine polish.
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