Jeremejevite appeals to me through restraint. Its pale blue does not need to announce itself loudly. I want the image to leave room for the eye to discover the edges, the clear passages and the slight changes that make a transparent object present.
The material and its origins
Jeremejevite is a rare aluminium borate. It was first described from Siberia in 1883, and fine gem-quality crystals are documented from Namibia’s Erongo Mountains. It can be colourless, yellowish or blue. Coloured examples show pleochroism, with colour varying by viewing direction. Its often elongated crystal habit provides a useful starting point for thinking about a slender cut.
| Material | Aluminium borate |
|---|---|
| Mohs hardness | 6.5–7 |
| Optical character | Transparency, pale blue colour and pleochroism |
What it brings to my work
I read this pale blue as a moment of stillness. Within a portrait or a jewelled object, it could create a pause between stronger colours, allowing a quieter detail to become significant. That sense of calm is my response to the image, rather than a universal sacred meaning assigned to the material.