This month rare collectable gemstone finds

Taaffeite

Taaffeite is one of the rarest and most desirable of collector's stones. Only a very few stones have been found, most of them originally misidentified as spinel.

Sri Lanka and Tanzania appear to be the only sources for this material this time. Pictured 1.74 cts Taaffeite oval from Tanzania

However, because of the geological connection between the deposits in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and East Africa, we expect to find the stones in Madagascar as well.

Poudretteite

Poudretteite is an extremely rare mineral that few gemologists have ever seen or even heard of. It was first discovered in Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada, during the mid 1960s.

Only seven crystals were unearthed but they were not recognized and registered as a new species until 1986. The mineral is named after the Poudrette family who operated a quarry in the Mont St. Hilaire area where the first specimens were discovered.

The only other reported source for poudretteite is in the Mogok region of the Shan state in northern Myanmar, and pictured 3.46cts fancy shape poudretteite from Myanmar is trully a rare find.