Feature
Gems & Gemology, Spring 2003, Volume 39, No. 1
Poudretteite: A Rare Gem Species from the Mogok Valley
Christopher P. Smith, George Bosshart, Stefan Graeser, Henry Hänni, Detlef Günther, Kathrin Hametner, and Edward J. Gübelin
In 2000, an unfamiliar gemstone was purchased in Mogok. It subsequently proved to be the rare borosilicate poudretteite, a mineral that previously had been identified only as tiny crystals from Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. This article presents a complete gemological description of this unique gemstone and furthers the characterization of this mineral by advanced spectroscopic and chemical analytical techniques.
