Pietersite Snuff Bottle

Pietersite is a variety of Quartz, composed naturally of Tiger's Eye, Hawk's Eye and Jasper, and is characterized by an incredible chatoyancy and brilliance of life within the stone. Its dominant gold hues are contrasted with deep blue-black, grey and brown, as well as occasional clear areas.

This rare gemstone can only be found in two places - in China and in Namibia.

The pietersite deposits in Namibia were discovered by Sid Pieter in 1962. I imagine this bottle was created from Namibian stone. It's carved as a melon with leaves and tendrils. It doesn't really matter to me that the bottle is probably not old because the real value of it lies in the gemstone material.

It is absolutely stunning to see in person because of the chatoyancy of both the gold and the blue. I've never seen shimmering blue like this! It's a glamourous bottle!

It is hollowed pretty well - certainly well enough to contain a good amount of snuff.