sapphirine
sapphirine crystal from Sri Lanka
Detailed sheet
sapphirine
It takes its name from its blue color, recalling the sapphire. It was discovered in Greenland in 1819 .
CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
(Mg,Al)8[O2/(Al,Si)6O18]
alumino-silicate of aluminum and magnesium
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Main color
blue
Other colors
brown, grey, colourless, pink, green, purple
Color of streak
white
Luster
vitreous
Hardness
7.5 to 0.0
Density
3.40 to 3.55
Cleavage
indistinct
Fracture
uneven
on the fracture, very small flat portions can be observed
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
Transparency
translucent, transparent
Refractive index
1.700 - 1.735
Double refraction
0.004
very weak, biaxial (-)
visible double refraction
No
Dispersion
-
Pleochroism
strong
Number of colors
3
yellowish pink, light blue, dark blue
Fluorescence
none
CRYSTALS PROPERTIES
short prisms sometimes biterminal
crystals system
monoclinic
OTHER INFORMATIONS
APPROACHING GEMS
Exploited
sites
It is found in Greenland (Fiskenaes, Maniitsoq), also in Antarctica but its main deposits are in Madagascar and Sri Lanka, where large crystals were found. In France it was found in Peygerolles, in the Haute-Loire .
use in jewelry
it is cut in facets when of a nice sapphire blue
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