The Gemstones
Maw Sit Sit
Consumer Information
What color is it?: A rich dark green with black mottled spots throughout is the color in which this stone occurs.
What is the story behind this gemstone?: This is one of my favorite gemstones for a number of reasons. One is the name. Its sort of fun to pronounce. And if you ever want to test just how much someone knows about colored gemstones...ask them about maw sit sit. If they say: HUH?...you know you have someone still stuck in the main stream of the colored gemstone world. Second, its pretty. A beautiful green color that looks like fine quality jade, which makes sense since one of the constituents that make up maw sit sit is jadeite. It has been pretty rare on the market, but I am seeing more and more of it as time goes by. A wonderful example of what the gemstone world can offer with an unusual name from a small place that no one has heard of...until they named a gemstone after it.
Can I wear it everyday?: Yes. The jade family of stones is very durable under a lot of wear and tear.
Is it expensive?: Not very expensive. About the same price as a nice piece of jadeite.
Is it a birthstone?: Excuse me? Can you image having someone ask you your birthstone and having to say its Maw-Sit-Sit?
What do I need to know before going shopping?: You will probably have trouble finding this stone. So look for an independent professional jeweler who sells a lot of other types of colored gemstones. Chances are this will be the jeweler who can find one of these rare and unusual stones.
General Information
Source: From a place called Maw Sit Sit in upper Myanmar. Maw sit sit was first identified by the late Dr. Eduard Gubelin in 1963 and named after the village close to the site where it was found.
Chemical: Combination of elements but primarily chromite and jadeite.
Formation: A metamorphic rock that was formed when higher pressure changed a formation of igneous rocks. The formation had a lot of chromium based minerals such as chromite and chrome rich jadeite, which accounts for the color.
Crystal System: None
Unusual Properties: Its name is enough.