Sugilite

Sugilite is one of the rarest and most collectible gemstones we carry. It's a complex cyclosilicate mineral discovered in 1944 by Japanese geologist Ken-ichi Sugi, after whom it was named. For decades it was known only from a handful of small specimens, but in 1979 a significant deposit was discovered in the Wessels Mine in South Africa's Northern Cape — and that discovery is what put Sugilite on the gemstone map. Today South Africa remains the primary commercial source of fine Sugilite in the world. The color ranges from pale lilac to vivid violet-purple to deep magenta — the most intense purple colors are the most prized.