One of the rarest minerals on the planet.
Cuprite is a very rare gem that has the colour of a Pyrope Garnet, but a brilliance greater than that of Diamond. Both the gem’s colour and its name are derived from the presence of copper (“cuprium” is Latin for Copper).
In addition to its wonderful brilliance, the gem also has an almost metallic appearance, which for many years caused darker specimens of the gem to be often confused with Haematite.
Unfortunately almost all crystal deposits of Cuprite are too small to yield faceted gemstones. However, there was a single deposit found in the 1970s in Onganja, Southwest Africa which produced crystals both in decent size and gem-quality: a find that set the gem world alight.
Crystal Healers believe that the gem is a high energy gemstone which will help increase your levels of energy as well as helping us connect with our inner guidance. It is also claimed to help with fertility and to help release fears.
As the gem registers only 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale it is rarely made into jewellery. That said, using our more modern setting techniques, the next time we come across a gem quality parcel of rough we are going to attempt to mount it.
