Painite is a borate of calcium, zirconium and aluminum, which was previously noted for its extreme rarity. This reputation was built upon the fact that not a single crystal of the mineral was found during the twenty-five years that followed its initial 1954 discovery in northern Myanmar’s famous Mogok gemstone tract.

Named after the English mineralogist and gemstone collector Arthur Charles Davy Pain, the rate of Mogok’s alluvial painite production has increased significantly in recent decades, but it is still sufficiently rare to be of interest to mineral collectors. This, in combination with its somewhat undesirable dark brownish-red hue and typically poor clarity, means that only a small percentage of painite crystals are sacrificed for faceting and subsequent inclusion within gem-set jewelry.