“It’s called kyawthuite (cha-too-ite), a tiny, tawny-hued grain weighing just a third of a gram (1.61 carats). On first glance, you might mistaken it for amber or topaz; but the unassuming mineral speck has value beyond measure.”

  • @[email protected]OP
    link
    fedilink
    1503 days ago

    He didn’t know until after it was faceted…

    “thought the raw gem was a mineral called scheelite. After he faceted the stone, though, he realized that he was looking at something unusual.”

        • Flying Squid
          link
          fedilink
          243 days ago

          I was in on it early, so I have no excuse other than I need to read more carefully next time. Which I probably won’t remember to do next time.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            32 days ago

            It’s all good, if you didn’t get it wronf, none would have corrected you and 99/100 that didn’t read the story wouldn’t know. You provided us 35 seconds of insight second hand.

          • @RamblingPanda
            link
            153 days ago

            Can someone tldr the whole thing? I’m too lazy to read the title, comments or article.

            (No please don’t, I read it, I’m just here for cheap jokes and giggles)

            • @[email protected]OP
              link
              fedilink
              183 days ago

              Guy found an interesting rock in a gemstone market in Myanmar, thought it was one thing, made it pretty, found out not only was it something else, it was something never before seen in nature.

              Naturally, now it lives in Los Angeles.

            • Zier
              link
              fedilink
              113 days ago

              tldr, there was a man from Nantucket…

            • Flying Squid
              link
              fedilink
              43 days ago

              I only read the above comment up to ‘tldr’ and skimmed the rest so the tldr is that the world’s rarest mineral is so rare that it’s only ever been found once!

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      32 days ago

      Like the guy who cut down the oldest know tree to find out how old it was. It wasn’t known how old it was at the time. (They have found probably older but don’t want to cut them down to find out.)