Kyanite

A 1.79ct kyanite ........Gemstone courtesy of Bear Essentials: Photo by Bear Williams

Consumer Information

What color is it?: Blue! A beautiful blue. Rivaling a nice sapphire. Some stones can go to the blue-green color. But this new find shown above is a nice, even medium dark blue.

What is the story behind this gemstone?: For many years this was considered more of a mineral than a gemstone. (Ref: Kyanite in YourGemologist's Minerals Section). And interest in kyanite as a gemstone has been lacking, mostly due to lack of sufficient supplies of gem quality rough material. However, with the recent find of fine quality kyanite in Nepal, interest in this unusual gemstone is on the rise. Particularly with the work of Bear and Cara Williams as referenced above.

Can I wear it everyday?: Yes...and no. Kyanite is a beautiful gemstone for pendants and earrings, but is rather brittle for rings. The reason is that it has a hardness averaging 5 in one direction and 7 in another. Moving it into the gemstone range of hardness, but making the wearability in rings a factor. Just like with tanzanites and emeralds. It can be worn with rings as long as you don't wear it out framing houses or playing back yard football.

Is it expensive?: About the same as a nice quality tanzanite.

Is it a birthstone?: With a name like "kyanite" ...not likely.

What do I need to know before going shopping?: Here you will need an independent professional jeweller with a lot of savvy for colored gemstones. And you will probably need to have a jeweller who knows Bear and Cara Williams. Because to my knowledge they have the market cornered on gem quality kyanite. Which is not exactly like having DeBeers control diamonds, because Bear does this for fun as much as for money, unlike his counterparts in the colorless gemstone business. So you can expect to pay a fair price based on the availability and demand of this gemstone. But I can tell you that I will be buying early. If the market of gem quality kyanite develops anywhere near like the tanzanite market developed, the prices will go up quickly. So the time to buy is now.

General Information

Photo and gemstone by Bear Williams, Bear Essentials

Source: Nepal as shown above, also in Kenya, United States, and Brazil (but not as nice as above) among others.

Chemical: Al2O(SiO4) Aluminum silicate. A sister stone to andalusite sharing the same chemical composition.

Formation: Mostly in metamorphic rocks especially schists and gneisses.

Crystal System: Triclinic

Unusual Properties: Chatoyancy (cat's eyes) have been found in various locations.

For the gemological information on this gemstone we invite you to join us in the