Vibrant Pietersite Pendants
A TEMPEST IN TIME
Pietersite (aka Tempest Stone or Touchonite) is a rare form of chalcedony with rich blue and orange coloring. The mineral is only found in two locations on Earth—China and Namibia—which makes it a unique geologic specimen.
The mineral displays a brecciated structure, meaning it is made of smaller fragments that have been broken and resealed in its matrix. Geologists have found this is due to penetrating groundwater that replaces dolomite with silica during formation, fragmenting the mineral.
It was first documented in 1962 by Sidney Pieters, a renowned gem prospector and dealer working in Namibia.
The Namibian pendants below are unique examples of this extraordinary, rare mineral. Each stone is a tempest caught in beautiful structure of deep time.
FURTHER READING
Cairncross, Bruce. “Sidney Pieters (1920-2003).” Rocks & Minerals, vol. 78, no. 5, 2003, pp. 360–61, https://doi.org/10.1080/00357529.2003.9926748.
Hu, Kaifan, and Peter J. Heaney. “A Microstructural Study of Pietersite from Namibia and China.” Gems & Gemology, vol. 46, no. 4, 2010, pp. 280–86, https://doi.org/10.5741/GEMS.46.4.280.
