Description
Charoite, Natural, Faceted Round, 3mm Strand
This price is for one strand 15" to 16" long
3mm strands have 128 to 133 pieces
Charoite is a rare silicate mineral, first described in 1978 and named for the Chara River in Siberia, Russia. Found only one place on Earth—the Murunskii Massif in the Sakha Republic (Siberia), Russia. Because of this incredibly narrow, single-source geography, it is exceptionally rare.
Its spectacular swirls are created by tightly interwoven, fibrous crystals. As it crystallized under massive heat and pressure millions of years ago, other minerals like black aegirine, white quartz, and orange-yellow tinaksite got caught in the mix, resulting in its distinctive multi-colored "brushstrokes".
Because it is packed with potassium, charoite actually emits a tiny, harmless trace of radioactivity. It is perfectly safe to wear and handle, but some specimens containing extra impurities can trigger highly sensitive Geiger counters!
Hardness 5-6
This is a natural stone that has had no treatment other than cutting, drilling, and polishing
The source of these beads is Russia and they are cut, drilled and polished in China
