Gem Profile- Maw Sit Sit

by Judy Ellis

In my pursuit of unusual gems to bring to your attention, I came across one that is unusually pretty and the name is just incredible! Maw Sit Sit, pronounced mah-sitsit, is a rare gem found only in one place in the world; Northern Myanmar (Burma).

A little about Maw Sit Sit?

Maw Sit Sit is a temperamental stone.

It rates about 6 to 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. This can vary from 5 to 7, depending on mineral makeup.

Cut it en cabochon or as round beads.

It's hard to facet due to soft spots during cutting and polishing.

Maw sit sit was originally thought to be jadeite.

It's mined in the same jade mine area.

In 1963, Swiss gemologist Dr. Edward Gubelin discovered it is not imperial jadeite.

It's an entirely new material with high chromium content.

Still a jade cousin, it is an aggregate of numerous minerals.

Maw Sit Sit shows deep emerald green to bright neon or apple green colors.

It can be mottled, veined, or striped with black or darker green.

The stone has no real crystal structure.

It forms by regional metamorphosis of igneous rocks, likely from the Indian plate colliding with the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas.

Rough and cut maw-sit-sit. Photo: Harold & Erica Van Pelt

Where is it found?

Myanmar (Burma) sits between Thailand and Laos to the east, India and China to the north, and Bangladesh to the west.

Maw Sit Sit comes from the Tawmaw mining district in Myanmar's Himalayan foothills.

The stone is named for the nearby village of the same name.

The mine lies on a plateau in the Uru River drainage basin.

It is nearly inaccessible during the rainy season from March through October.

How is Maw Sit Sit mined?

Maw Sit Sit is mined by hand in the mud, just like Imperial Jadeite for centuries.

Modern tools include power tools and dynamite.

The remote area lacks good roads. Trucks often get stuck in the muck, creating automobile graveyards.

Miners use teams of elephants to free vehicles from mud holes in the rainy season.

Elephants shriek and strain to pull a stranded truck from the mire of the Hopin-Hpakan road. Photo: R.W. Hughes

Rock is pulled from the mine.

Miners and on-site experts inspect it, then ship it to a larger village for grading and sale.

Raw stone looks like ordinary gray-brown rocks caked in mud.

Miners often inspect a stone for minutes, then toss it aside. They struggle to tell valuable Maw Sit Sit from plain rock.

The mined dike holds years of material. Though rare, Maw Sit Sit won't run out soon.

Mining jade at Maw-sisa, near Lonkin, Burma. Photo: Richard W. Hughes.

How to care for your Maw Sit Sit:

Treat Maw Sit Sit like turquoise.

Never use steam, ionic, or sonic cleaners. Clean only with soap and water.

Avoid extreme temperature changes. Store away from harder stones that could scratch it.

A beautiful Maw Sit Sit wire-wrapped necklace by Mint Schlief. The lower pendant is a carved triangle, and the upper is an emerald-cut stone, both in gold-filled wire. Photo courtesy of Mint Schlief.

Wrapping it all up:

Maw Sit Sit is a beautiful, rare stone.

It's unusual in both look and name.

When someone asks, "Oh, how beautiful, what stone is that?"

Answer, "Thanks, it's Maw Sit Sit."

Have a camera ready to capture their reaction.

Gem Profile- Maw Sit Sit

Materials

Tools

Reviews

Other Articles by Judy Ellis

Supplies

Resources

About Us

Connect With Us