Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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
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Boleite Information
| Data | Value |
| Name | Boleite |
| Crystallography | Tetragonal. Pseudocubic. Crystals usually cube shaped, sometimes modified by other faces, and in parallel growths. |
| Colors | Indigo blue to Prussian blue, blackish blue. |
| Luster | Vitreous, pearly on cleavage. |
| Hardness | 3-3.5 |
| Density | 5.05 |
| Birefringence | 0.020 |
| Cleavage | Perfect 1 direction, good 1direction. |
| 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 |
| Spectral | Not diagnostic. |
| Formula | Pb9Ag3Cu8Cl21(OH)16·H2O |
| Pleochroism | None |
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.
