Boleite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information
Cut boleite is strictly for collectors, since it is soft and very rare. Faceted gems of any transparency should be considered among the rarest of all gemstones. The color is so attractive that any available stones would be quickly snapped up by collectors.
Boleite Value
The International Gem Society (IGS) has a list of businesses offering gemstone appraisal services.
Boleite Information
| Data | Value |
| Name | Boleite |
| Crystallography | Tetragonal. Pseudocubic. Crystals usually cube shaped, sometimes modified by other faces, and in parallel growths. |
| Refractive Index | 2.03-2.05 |
| Colors | Indigo blue to Prussian blue, blackish blue. |
| Luster | Vitreous, pearly on cleavage. |
| Fracture | Uneven |
| Hardness | 3-3.5 |
| Specific Gravity | 5.05 |
| Birefringence | 0.020 |
| Cleavage | Perfect 1 direction, good 1 direction |
| Stone Sizes | Crystals up to 2 cm on an edge have been found. Crystals, however, are usually nearly opaque, and facetable material is exceedingly rare. Stones up to about 1 carat have been cut, and even these are not entirely clean. |
| Luminescence | None. |
| Transparency | Transparent to opaque. |
| Absorption Spectrum | Not diagnostic. |
| Formula | Pb9Ag3Cu8Cl21(OH)16·H2O |
| Pleochroism | None. |
| Optics | o = 2.05; e = 2.03. Uniaxial (-). |
OPTICS: o = 2.05; e = 2.03
Uniaxial (-)
OCCURRENCE: Secondary mineral in Cu and Pb deposits.
Chile; Broken Hill, N.S.W., Australia
Boleo, Baja California: magnificent single crystals and groups on matrix, with single crystals up to nearly ½ inch.
COMMENTS: Cut boleite is strictly for collectors, since it is soft and very rare. Faceted gems of any transparency should be considered among the rarest of all gemstones. The color is so attractive that any available stones would be quickly snapped up by collectors.
NAME: Boleo, Santa Rosalia, Baja California, Mexico.
