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Kunzite is an unusual and rare gemstone stone. It was known in Central Asia and in Eastern Europe as early as the sixteenth century from sources in Afghanistan and Russia. A variety of spodumene, it was believed by Russian jewlers to be a variety of pink amethyst. There are also references to it in ancient Hindu texts, where it was referenced as having been produced in what is present-day Pakistan. Kunzite was first "discovered" in America at the Pala Chief Mine near San Diego, California and named after Tiffany's chief gemologist George Frederick Kunz, who was the first to give a comprehensive (and published) description of the gemstone shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. Another variety "discovered" in America was named "hiddenite", after A. E. Hidden who was one of the original mine owners of the type location for this spodumene variety in North Carolina.
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Antique Kunzite Gemstone:
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