Small, cuttable crystals of very rare zektzerite are found only in a mountainous location in Washington state. Faceted pieces would make prized specimens for any collection of American gems.
Zektzerites may fluoresce light yellow or blue in ultraviolet (UV) shortwave (SW). However, they have no reaction to UV longwave (LW) and show no phosphorescence in either SW or LW UV.
Crystals may occur in sizes up to 35 mm in size. Some have enough transparency to yield small faceted gems, less than 2 carats. Typical crystals range in size from 4-15 mm in size, sometimes perched on riebeckite crystals.
Cuttable material and, thus, cut stones are exceedingly rare.
Care
You’re more likely to find zektzerites in mineral collections, if at all, than in jewelry collections. Any zektzerites in jewelry should have protective settings. Since they have a hardness of 6, they have greater susceptibility to scratches than more common jewelry stones like quartz and topaz. Their perfect cleavage in two directions and brittle tenacity also make them susceptible to damage from impacts. Therefore, clean these gemstones only with a warm damp cloth, mild detergent, and soft brush. For more care recommendations, consult our gemstone jewelry cleaning guide.