 |
| |
 |
|
| |
|
 | |  | |  | |  |
|
| Vesuvianite from Kola Peninsula |
|
||||||||
| . |
More Vesuvianites on ebay auction |
||||
|
|
||||
| |
|||||
| . |
Vesuvianite en.wikipedia.org Vesuvianite is a green, brown, yellow, or blue silicate mineral, Ca10Mg2Al4(SiO4)5(Si2O7)2(OH)4. Vesuvianite occurs as tetragonal crystals in limestones that have been subjected to contact metamorphism. It was first discovered in or adjacent to lavas on Mount Vesuvius. A blueish variety is known as cyprine was first reported from Franklin, New Jersey, the blue is due to impurities of copper. Californite is a name sometimes used for jade-like vesuvianite, also known as California-, American- or Vesuvianite-jade. Xanthite is a manganese rich variety. Idocrase is an older synonym sometimes used for gemstone quality vesuvianite. http://www.cst.cmich.edu OTHER NAMES: Several names have been given to the mineral now recognized as vesuvianite by the CNMMN of the IMA. The designation idocrase, however, continues to be used widely, especially in gem(m)ology and the "lapidary world." In addition -- and it is unclear whether most of the other names were meant to pertain to only macrocrystalline vesuvianite, to compact massive varieties of vesuvianite, or to vesuvianite in general -- it seems only prudent to repeat the following names given this mineral as listed in Dana (1992) and/or Dana-Ford (1932): californite, colophonite, cyprine, egeran, genevite, loboite, wiluite (or viluite) and xanthite. However, of these names, I have found only those listed below to have been applied to compact massive vesuvianite varieties used as gemrock rough. (But, It also seems prudent to add that this is not to say that one or more of the other terms has not also been applied to the gemrock variety; it merely indicates that I have not seen such use of those terms.) ... Californite (a compact massive vesuvianite ± grossular) - this fine gemrock (see Figure A) has been marketed as American jade, California jade, Feather River jade, Happy Camp jade, Pulga jade, and Vesuvianite jade; The use of these names, in my opinion, is unfortunate so far as recognition that massive vesuvianite should have as a gemstone -- see also related statements under the REMARKS subheading. |
||||
