Kunzite (Spodumene)

Kunzite is the pink to lilac variety of the mineral spodumene, coloured by trace manganese. It was named after the American gemologist George F. Kunz, who first described it in 1902 from deposits in San Diego County, California. Kunzite is strongly pleochroic (showing different colours from different crystal directions) and has two directions of perfect cleavage. These properties make it technically demanding to cut. Cutters must orient the table facet perpendicular to the c-axis to capture the deepest pink through the face of the stone.

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