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| Mellite |
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| Mellite |
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Known as the “honey stone”
Mellite is a rare mineral favored
by both collectors and gem-lovers.
Discovered in 1793 in the town
of Arten, Thuringe, in Allemagne
of France, the name Mellite was
derived from the ancient Latin
word for “honey” which
is “mellitus” due
to its appearance in natural honey
color. Though white specimens
of Mellite are occasionally discovered
and brown to reddish shades are
unearthed, it is usually found
in a honey to waxy yellow color.
Mellite
Al2[C6(COO)6]•16(H2O), is
a mellitate of alumina. It has
a Refractive Index of 1.51 to
1.53 and has a hardness of 2.0
to 2.5 on the Moh’s Scale
of Hardness. This mineral has
been found in France (region of
Seine), in Germany (Thüringen,
Arten), in Hungary (Csordakut,
Tatabanya, Sordakuit Banya) and
in Russia (Malevka, Malowka, Tula)
Found
in deposits of brown coal its
formation is partly the result
of vegetable decomposition, a
highly unusual situation amongst
gemstones.
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| Morganite |
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| Pink
Morganite |
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Morganite a variety of Beryl is
sometimes also called as ‘Pink
Beryl’, and is famous for
its pink or rose-lilac color and
fine luster. Discovered in 1911,
in Madagascar, Morganite is named
after John Pierpont Morgan the American
banker and gem enthusiast.
Beryl
in its pure form is colorless or
yellow and includes many important
and beautiful gemstones like Emerald
and Aquamarine. The different colors
of Beryl arise from the mineral
inclusions present in the stones
and Beryl would have been a very
ordinary gemstone had it not been
for these colorful varieties. The
pink variety Morganite has trace
amounts of manganese in their crystal
structure. Unfortunately, flawless
specimens are extremely rare.
Found
in Madagascar, Brazil and in various
parts of the US, the first material
discovered displayed a bright purplish
pink color that still sets the standard
for the best Morganite in the world.
Lower quality Morganite occurs in
colors ranging from peach orange
to pinkish yellow; though on heat
treatment its color changes to a
beautiful soft pink color. And if
the stone is already pink then its
color is enhanced because of this
heat treatment. This heat treatment
is stable and does not degrade Morganite
under ultraviolet light. However
there are people who collect the
untreated Morganite over the treated
pink form.
Morganite
is found in squat, tabular crystals
closely resembling Rose Quartz but
differing from it in the property
of luster, wherein Morganite that
is facetted in the correct way is
much more lustrous than Rose Quartz.
With a hardness of 7.5 to 8.0 on
the Moh’s Scale this gemstone
is actually tougher than its famous
cousins.
Morganite
is suitable as a jewellery stone
due to its luster, beautiful color
and hardness, however its rareness
has prevented this gem from gaining
popularity.
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| Magnesite |
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| Magnesite |
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Composed of magnesium, carbon
and oxygen (MgCO3), Magnesite
was named after its chemical
composition. Whereas the name
Breunnerite or Ferro-magnesite
is used for iron rich Magnesite.
With a hardness of 3.5 - 4 on
the Moh’s scale and a
specific gravity of 3, Magnesite
is commonly found in association
with Calcite, Dolomite, Aragonite,
Strontianite and Serpentine.
Discovered
in 1808 in Greece, Magnesite
has been found in various locations
worldwide and the deposits found
in Styria and Zillertal in Austria
produce fine quality stones.
The deposits in Bahia, Brazil
recently produced an interesting
form of Magnesite, which are
clear, transparent and six sided
crystals. As they are identical
in appearance to the Calcite
variety and were unseen before,
they are highly sought after.
As
it does not ordinarily form
good crystals, it is commonly
collected as a rare mineral
and sometimes faceted into a
stone. Commonly found in white
or gray colors and sometimes
with a tint of yellow or brown,
the individual crystals are
translucent to transparent and
good crystals are extremely
rare to find.
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| Milarite |
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| Milarite |
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Milarite is named after
the locality of its discovery
in Val Giuf (Val Milar),
Tavetsch, Grischum, Switzerland.
A rare mineral, it belongs
to the Milarite-Osumilite
mineral group, or simply
the Osumilite group, or
the Milarite group. Of
the 18 minerals which
form the group, only Milarite,
Osumilite and Sugilite
are somewhat known, while
the rest are extremely
rare in occurrence. It
is found in good prismatic
hexagonal crystals and
in muted green or yellow
shades.
Composed
of Hydrated Potassium
Calcium Aluminum Beryllium
Silicate (K2Ca4Al2Be4
Si24O60-H2O), Milarite
has a Specific Gravity
of 2.5 - 2.6 and a Hardness
of 5.5 - 6 on the Moh’s
Scale. Though the crystals
are generally translucent,
some transparent specimens
are also reported. These
crystals occur in small
sizes generally and have
a vitreous to dull luster.
This mineral also makes
excellent micromounted
specimens and some specimens
even fluoresce blue-white
under short wave ultraviolet
light.
Milarite
is found in Jaguaracu,
Minas Gerais, (Brazil),
Valencia Mine, Guananajuato,
(Mexico), Henneberg (Germany),
Kola Peninsula (Russia),
Mont Saint-Hilaire (Quebec,
Canada), Monte Cervandone
(Piemonte, Italy), Langesunsfjord
(Norway) and Maehren (Czech
Republic) apart from Val
Giuf (Val Milar).
Though
Milarite has been cut
as a gem, it is extremely
rare. Its small specimens
and general translucency
make it suitable to cut,
especially for rare gemstone
collectors. And good specimens
with intense color, nice
luster and fluorescence
are attractive under magnification.
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| Mawsitsit |
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| Mawsitsit |
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A
weird name to suit its
profile; named after a
village in northern Burma(Myanmar),
Mawsitsit is a high-Chromium
content cousin of Jadeite.
It is found in only one
deposit on earth. It is
famous for its vivid green
tone with areas of black
in the same specimen.
Mawsitsit was discovered
by Swiss Gemologist, Eduard
Gubelin in 1963. The famous
gemologist was traveling
in Burma and noticed a
bright green rock with
black inclusions being
mined. It has taken over
30 years for this beautiful
material to become available
to the world at large.
It is not considered Jade,
but is similar in its
toughness and the uses
made of it. It is composed
of Chrome Jadeite, Ureyite,
and Natrolite. It receives
its lovely green color
from Chromium and its
black swirls from Ureyite.
This combination creates
specimens with flowing
veins of green and black.
The dramatic contrast
of bright green and black
is unique in the gem world.
The crystal structure
is very similar to jade
in its fibrous texture.
Mawsitsit is ranked 6
to 8 on the Moh’s
Scale of Hardness with
a Specific Gravity of
2.50 to 3.10. It occurs
in opaque to translucent
form and is waxy to vitreous
in luster. It’s
used for carvings and
is an attractive durable
stone. It’s apt
for everyday wear and
care should be taken to
avoid direct contact with
the heat and chemicals. |
| Moonstones |
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| Moonstone |
Rainbow |
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The Romans, who thought
it was formed out of moonlight,
loved the moonstones and
had them studded in all
their jewellery, and in
India, where it is considered
a sacred stone, moonstone
is the most valuable variety
of feldspar with an iridescent
sheen. This sheen is known
as adularescence.
Moonstones come in several
colors, ranging from colorless
to gray, brown, yellow,
green, or pink. Moonstone
cats eye is also available.
Sometimes moonstone will
have an eye as well as
sheen. Another related
feldspar variety is known
as rainbow moonstone.
In this variety of labradorite
feldspar, the sheen is
a variety of rainbow hues.
The best moonstone has
a blue sheen, perfect
clarity, and a colorless
body color. Fine moonstone
is quite rare and becoming
rarer. It is mined in
Sri Lanka and Southern
India. Moonstone symbolizes
the Third Eye, it is said
to balance yin/yang, protect
against epilepsy and sunstroke,
cure headaches and nose
bleeds, and ensure a high
yield in crops. During
the full moon, men can
use it to predict the
future by placing it in
their mouths but women
should avoid it at this
time. Its characteristic
shimmer is known as schiller
or adularescence, and
is caused by the intergrowth
of two different types
of feldspar with different
refractive indexes.
Moonstones are usually
cut in a smooth-domed
cabochon shape to maximize
this effect. Blue flash
and rainbow moonstones
have recently become very
popular. Once considered
plentiful, they are now
rather scarce due to increased
demand and prices have
risen.
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