The aluminum borate, johachidolite, is one of the world’s rarest gemstones. It is usually yellow and/or orange in color, but extremely pale specimens can verge on colorless.
It was first discovered within the Johachido district of North Korea in 1942, but wasn’t officially designated as a new mineral species until 1977. While these initial North Korean crystals were minute in size, a more recent deposit in Myanmar’s famous Mogok stone tract was able to produce small amounts of bright yellow-orange material of sufficient size and clarity for faceting.
However, while johachidolite is sufficiently hard for use as a jewelry-set gemstone, the lack of reliable and consistent production means that johachidolite crystals of significant size and hue saturation will likely only be purchased by serious mineral collectors for displaying in their natural form.