Until 2006, only two crystals of Painite were known to exist in the entire world. One was in the British Museum, the other in a private collection. That’s it. If you wanted to see one, you had to book a flight to London and hope it wasn’t on loan.
What Is The Rarest Gemstones In The World | Detroit Chinatown
Then, something shifted. A new deposit was found in the Mogok region of Myanmar. Suddenly, a few hundred crystals emerged. But don’t get too excited—most are small, fractured, and not gem-quality. The cuttable pieces? Still vanishingly scarce.
Even today, you could count all the gem-grade Painites on your hands and toes. Maybe with a finger or two leftover. It’s like a secret club with an impossibly strict bouncer.
