Poudretteite: A Rare Gem Species From the Mogok Valley
A healed fissure that traverses one side of this extraordinary gemstone consists of equidimensional-to-oblong liquid and liquid-gas inclusions in a parallel formation. Photomicrograph by C.P. Smith; magnified 28x.
In 2000, an unfamiliar gemstone was purchased in Mogok. It subsequently proved to be the rare borosilicate poudretteite, a mineral that previously had been identified only as tiny crystals from Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. This article presents a complete gemological description of this unique gemstone and furthers the characterization of this mineral by advanced spectroscopic and chemical analysis techniques.
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