Milarite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

What is Milarite?

Milarite belongs to the mineral group named after it. Sometimes called the osumilite group, this group also includes sugilite and other rarely faceted minerals, such as laurentthomasite, poudretteite, and sogdianite.

Does Milarite Make a Good Jewelry Stone?

With a hardness of 5.5 to 6 and no cleavage, milarites could make suitable jewelry stones if worn with protective settings. However, you're more likely to find them — if at all — in mineral collections than jewelry collections.

Identifying Milarites

Milarite was originally known as a green mineral, until fine yellow crystals were discovered in Mexico in 1968.

Some milarites may luminesce. Shortwave (SW) ultraviolet (UV) light may cause bluish white or greenish white fluorescence and phosphorescence, while longwave (LW) UV light may cause medium chalky green fluorescence and weak phosphorescence.

Are There Synthetic Milarites?

There are no known synthetic milarites and no known treatments or enhancements for these gemstones.

Where are Milarites Found?

Guanajuato, Mexico produces yellow and yellow-green gem-quality crystals on matrix, and some larger Mexican crystals have transparent areas suitable for cutting.

Minas Gerais, Brazil and Tsumeb and the Erongo region in Namibia have also yielded small, facetable material.

Other notable crystal sources include the following locations:

• St. Gotthard, Switzerland: green crystals.
• China; Spain; New Hampshire, United States.

Stone Sizes

Crystals can occur up to about four cm across, but facetable areas in such crystals are very small. Thus, stones over one carat could be considered large for the species.

How to Care for Milarite Gems

Stay on the safe side and refrain from cleaning these rare gems in mechanical systems. Instead, use a soft brush, mild detergent, and warm water. Consult our gemstone jewelry care guide for more recommendations.

Milarite rough and cut set (crystal: 1.4 x 1.3 x 1.3 cm; emerald-cut gem: 1.38 cts), Jaguaracu, Minas Gerais, Brazil. © Rob Lavinsky, www.iRocks.com. Used with permission.