Discovered in 1962 by Sid Pieters in Namibia. The finder's name became the stone's. Composed of the same fibrous minerals as tiger's eye and hawk's eye, shattered by tectonic movement and recemented.

The straight, parallel fibre structure of ordinary tiger's eye is completely destroyed in pietersite. Broken fibres recombine at irregular angles, making the movement of light unpredictable. Its resemblance to a turbulent sky earned it the name ""tempest stone.""

Confirmed deposits exist in only two locations: Namibia and China. Namibian production continues to decline, with no new veins discovered.