Scientific Stone Information Chart

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Welcome to The Mystic Jewel Scientific Stone Information Chart!

The following chart includes scientific data about most of the gemstones and minerals we carry including hardness, color, classification, locations of common occurrence and some other interesting facts pertaining to the stones.

Stone Name	Scientific Classification	Color(s)	Hardness	Locations Where the Stone is Most Commonly Found	Interesting Facts Associated With This Stone
Agate	The banded variety of Crypto-crystalline (crystals are too small to see with the naked eye) chalcedony quartz	White, Orange, Blue, Green, Brown	7	Germany, Uruguay, Brazil, United States, Mexico, Madagascar, Italy, Egypt, India, China, Scotland	Named for the river Achates in Sicily, Italy where it was discovered sometime between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.
Amber	Fossilized Resin or Tree Sap often containing preserved remains of plants and animals.	Yellow, Orange & Green	2 to 3	Baltic countries; Venezuela; Russia; Romania; Burma;Wyoming and the Dominican Republic	Most Amber is 30 to 90 million years old. The oldest Amber containing insects is over 145 million years old.
Amethyst	Purple variety of Quartz & the birthstone for February,	Light to Dark Purple	7	Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Uruguay, Africa, USA, Italy, Germany, Russia	The name Amethyst originates from a Greek word meaning "not drunken". This may have been associated with the belief that Amethyst would ward off the affect of alcohol.
Ammonite	350 million year old fossilized remains of an extinct relative of the Nautilus.	Shades of brown and tan. Sometimes the cavities are opalized and display fire similar to an opal.	N/A	The Sahara Desert, USA	Ammonite flourished in a warm shallow sea which covered what is now the Sahara Desert.
Apatite	Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite	Mostly transparent to translucent green with rarer varieties of pink, brown, blue violet and yellow.	5	Burma, Brazil, India, Madagascar, Kenya, Mexico, Norway, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the United States	Hydroxylapatite is the major component of tooth enamel. Apatite is used in the US by tobacco farmers because it starves the plants of nitrogen giving the tobacco a specific flavor.
Aquamarine	Aquamarine is the blue variety of the mineral Beryl. It is the birthstone for March.	Blue to Green	7.5 to 8	Brazil, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Russia, Pakistan and the USA	The biggest aquamarine ever mined was found in Brazil, in 1910. It weighed over 110 kg, and its dimensions were 48.5 cm long and 42 cm in diameter.
Aventurine	A form of quartz with several mineral inclusions which give it a shimmering luster called aventurescence.	Most commonly Green with fewer occurances of Orange, Brown, Yellow, Blue or Gray	6.5	Chille, Spain, Russia, India and the USA	The name aventurine derives from the Italian "a ventura" meaning "to cometh". Uses for aventurine include landscape stone, building stone, aquaria, monuments, and jewelry.
Bloodstone	The mineral heliotrope, a variety of chalcedony quartz.	Bloodstone is green jasper with red iron oxide inclusions.	7	India, Brazil, China, Australia and the USA	The red inclusions resemble drops of blood, thus the common name Bloodstone. The name heliotrope is derrived from the greek words helio(sun) and trepein(to turn).
Carnelian	A reddish brown to orange variety of Chalcedony quartz.	Orange to reddish brown, occasionaly with banding.	6 to 7	Barzil, Uruguay, India	The word carnelian comes from the latin word meaning horn. It was used in Roman times to make carved signet rings used to imprint an image into a hot wax seal.
Chalcedony	A crypto-crystalline(crystals are too small to see with the naked eye) variety of quartz.	Blue, Green, Orange-Red, Brown	6 to 7	Madagascar, Brazil, India, China and the USA	Agate, Carnelian, Chrysoprase, Bloodstone are all types of Chalcedony. The word chalcedony is derived from the name of the ancient Greek town Chalkedon in Asia Minor
Charoite	A rare silicate mineral	Lavendar to Purple with marble like banding	5 to 6	Only 1 known source in Siberia, Russia	Charoite is named for the Chara River in Siberia, Russia where it was discovered in the 1940's
Chrysocolla	Hydrated copper silicate which forms in the oxidation zones of bodies of copper ore.	Blue, Blue-Green, Green	2.5 to 3.5	Israel, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile, England, and Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Pennsylvania in the United States.	The name Chrysocolla comes from the Greek words for gold and glue, for a substance used in the soldering of gold, including chrysocolla as well as other blue and green minerals.
Chrysoprase	A green variety of Chalcedony Quartz	Apple Green to Dark Green	6 to 7	Queensland, Western Australia, Germany, Poland, Russia, Arizona & California in the USA, and Brazil.	Chrysoprase gets its green color from trace amounts of nickel inclusions.
Citrine	The yellow to orange variety of quartz	Citrine rarely forms naturaly. It has ferric(iron with an oxidation number of +3) inclusions which give it its yellow color.	7	Brazil is the leading producer of Citrine, but it can be found anywhere there is quartz.	Most citrine on the market is heat treated amethyst or smokey quartz. When amethyst or smokey quartz are heated at high temps, the color can be changed to yello, resulting in man made citrine.
Copal	Sub-Fossil tree resin (Premature Amber)	Milky yellow or butterscotch	2 to 3	Africa, Asia, Australia, Baltic region, East India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Philippines, South America - Brazil, Colombia, Sierra Leone and the Congo, Sumatra.	Copal is still used by indigenoud peoples of Mexico and Central America as an insence, burned during ceremonies such as "sweat lodge" ceremony.
Coral - Red Coral, Sponge Coral	Precious coral or red coral is the common name given to Corallium rubrum and several related species of marine coral. The distinguishing characteristic of precious corals is their durable and intensely colored red skeleton, which is used for making jewelry.	warm reddish pink colors from pale pink to deep red	3.5	The Straights of Gibraltar, Cape Verde Islands, Japan, Taiwan, and the Mediterranean region.	Coral jewelry has been found in ancient Egyptian and prehistoric European burials.The hard skeleton of red coral branches is naturally matte, but can be polished to a glassy shine.
Corundum (Ruby & Sapphire)	Aluminum Oxide - The second hardest natural mineral known to science.	white or colorless, blue, red, yellow, green, brown, purple, and pink. The Red variety of corundum is known as Ruby and all of the other colors are classified as Sapphire.	9	Burma; Sri Lanka; North Carolina and Montana, USA; many African localities; several localities in India, and Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries	Corundum is naturally clear but gets different colors based on the impurities within. It is commonly used as an abrasive, on everything from sandpaper to large machines used in machining metals, plastics and wood.
Diopside	Gemstone quality diopside is found in two forms: the black star diopside and the chrome diopside, which includes chromium giving it a rich green colour.	clear, white, blue, bright and pale green to yellowish or greenish brown	5 to 6	USA; Russia; Italy; Austria; Germany; Sri Lanka; Brazil; Mogok, Burma; Madagascar; Kimberly, South Africa and Finland	One variety of diopside is quite dark, with included rutile needles aligned so as to produce a 4-rayed star, hence the name star diopside.
Fluorite	A mineral composed of calcium fluoride. Many samples of fluorite fluoresce(glow) under ultra-violet light, a property that takes its name from fluorite.	Colors of Fluorite vary and many times can be an intense purple, blue, green or yellow; also colorless, reddish orange, pink, white and brown. A single crystal can be multi-colored.	4	England; Spain; China; Brazil; Morocco; Canada; Mexico; Germany; and many USA localities	The word fluorite is derived from the Latin root fluo, meaning "to flow" because the mineral has a relatively low melting point and was used as an important flux in smelting.
Garnet	A group of minerals with 6 different sub species including pyrope, almandine, spessartite, grossular (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite.	red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink and colorless. The rarest is blue.	6 to 7.5 depending on the variety	Ceylon, Australia, Madagascar, India, Australia, USA and Brazil	The most common crystal shape for garnets is the rhombic dodecahedron, a twelve sided crystal with diamond-shaped (rhombic) faces. This basic shape is the trademark of garnets. No other crystal shape is so closely associated with a single mineral group like the rhombic dodecahedron is with garnets. The main differences in physical properties among the members of the garnet group are slight variations in color, density and index of refraction.
Goldstone	A manmade gemstone which is a type of glass with copper or copper oxides in the presence of a reducing flame. It was first made by monks in 17th century Italy.	Orange or Dark Blue	N/A - Manmade glass gemstone simulant.	Original manufacture dates back to the 17th century in Italy, but it is now produced around the world.	The original Italian name for goldstone is "avventurina" indicating its accidental discovery, hence the mineral name "aventurine" for forms of feldspar or quartz with mica inclusions that give a similar glittering appearance. The stone gets its color from the added metals, in orange it is copper. Dark Blue varieties use either a colored glass matrix or use metals other than copper (cobalt, manganese, or chromium) to achieve the blue color.
Hematite	Iron Oxide	Steel Gray to Black and in some forms, brown to red	5 to 6	England, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and the Lake Superior region	The name hematite is derrived from the Greek word haimatites meaning "bloodlike" because of its red color in the powdered form. Hematite is an ore of iron and it's blood red color in the powdered form lends itself to use as a pigment.
Iolite	The gemstone variety of cordierite	Yellowish gray to blue to blue violet.	7 to 7.5	Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar and Burma	Catalytic converters are commonly made from ceramics containing a large proportion of cordierite. The name "iolite" comes from the Greek word for violet. Gem quality iolite varies in color from sapphire blue to blue violet to yellowish gray to light blue as the light angle changes.
Jade	gem variety of Jadeite or Nephrite	emerald green, white, gray, yellow, brown, orange and violet.	6.5 to 7	Australia, Canada, China, Burma, USA, Vietnam	Jade has been used as an ornamental and ceremonial stone in many cultures, dating back to pre 3000 b.c. Nephrite is usually only green and creamy white, while jadeite can have the full range of jade's colors.
Jasper	A dense, opaque, microcrystalline variety of quartz.	Usually a random mix of reds, browns, greens or yellows and coloured by oxides of iron.	6 to 7	Found in the same locations as Quartz.	Jasper means "spotted stone". The first uses of jasper date back to 1800 B.C.
Kyanite	Aluminum Silicate - Kyanite is a polymorph with two other minerals; andalusite and sillimanite.	Typically blue but can be white, gray or green. Kyanite displays a metallic sheen when angled in light.	4.5 when scratched parallel to the long axis. 6.5 when scratched perpendicular across the long axis.	Brazil; North Carolina and Georgia, USA; Switzerland; Russia; Serbia; India and Kenya	The word kyanite comes from the Greek "kyanos", meaning "blue," the common colour of the species. Kyanite is used primarily in refractory and ceramic products, including porcelain plumbing fixtures and dinnerware. It is also used in electrical insulators, spark plugs and abrasives.
Labradorite	A variety of silicate feldspar. Calcium sodium aluminum silicate	Gray to smokey black with blue, green, red, yellow "fire" when viewed from different angles.	6 to 6.5	Madagascar, Labrador, Canada and Scandinavian Pennisula	Labradorite is named from its occurrence in Labrador, Canada. In other countries it is known as spectrolite. Labradorite is very similar in chemical composition to Moonstone and Sunstone. The color display of labradorite is from lamellar intergrowths inside the crystal. These intergrowths result from compatible chemistries at high temperatures becoming incompatible at lower temperatures and thus a separating and layering. The color effect is caused by a ray of light entering a layer and being refracted back and forth by deeper layers. This refracted ray is slowed by the extra travel through the layers and mixes with other rays to produce a light ray coming out that has a different wavelength than when it went in. The wavelength could correspond to the wavelength of a particular color, such as blue. The "fire"effect depends on the thickness and orientation of the layers. If the layers are too thick or too thin no color shiller is seen. Also if the viewer does not observe from the precise angle or if light is not supplied from the proper angle then no color shiller is seen. This play of color is called Labradorescence.
Lapis Lazuli	Mostly comprised of the mineral lazurite with calcite and pyrite inclusions.	Brilliant blue to navy blue with golden or white color inclusions.	5 to 5.5	Afghanistan, Chile, Russia, Italy; Cascade Canyon, San Bernardino Mountains and Ontario Peak, California and in the Sawatch Mountains, Colorado, USA	Lapis Lazuli means "blue rock". The blue color comes from sulfer in the mineral lazurite which lapis lazuli is comprised mostly of. It has been used for over 6000 years an an ornamental stone, for carvings and in jewelry. It was used in its powdered form as a color pigment.
Larimar	Arare blue variety of the mineral pectolite, found only in the Dominican Republic.	Shades of Aqua Blue and Green with white veining. Although pectolite is found in many locations, none have the unique volcanic blue coloration of larimar. This blue color, distinct from that of other pectolites, is the result of cobalt substitution for calcium	4.5 to 5	The Dominican Republic (spread over 1 square kilometer)	The discovery of Larimar is credited to Miguel Mendez and Norman Rilling who discovered the stone washed up on the shores of the Caribbean Sea in 1974. The stone was named for Miguel's daughter Larissa and the spanish word "mar" meaning "the sea". Larimar was reported in the early 1900's by a priest in the Dominican Republic, but no one followed up on his reports of finding a blue stone. Quality grading is according to coloration: white is low quality, volcanic blue high quality. High quality jewelry utilizes stones between sky-blue and volcanic blue, often in combinations of both. Greenish colorations are also known but not well regarded, unless the green is intense.
Malachite	Copper Carbonate Hydroxide - often found together with azurite and calcite.	Light green to dark green with marble like banding and patterns.	3.5 to 4	Shaba, Congo; Nambia; Ural mountains, Russia; Mexico; Australia; England and in the Southwestern United States especially in Arizona	Malachite is named from the greek word "mallow" a green plant. Because of its softness, it is often used in carvings throughout history and in present day. Malachite is one of the most popular tumbled stones in the world. Malachite often pseudomorphs with the mineral azurite. A pseudomorph is where the original mineral has been chemically replaced by another mineral, but the outward appearance is still retained. Pseudomorph means "false shape". The transformation sometimes leaves a nearly perfect azurite crystal shape that is actually malachite. Often the transformation is incomplete and leaves a blue/green mineral specimen unlike any other. A gem trade name is used for ornamental stones with this combination called azur-malachite.
Marcasite	Iron Sulfide. Marcasite is often confused with pyrite but is softer and often more brittle even though its chemical formula is the same as pyrite.	Metallic yellowish to green in color.	6 to 6.5	USA, Mexico, France, China & Russia	Marcasite is often found in antique and costume jewelry. Marcasite is a polymorph of pyrite which means that it has the same chemistry as pyrite but a different structure and, therefore, different symmetry and crystal shapes.
Moldavite	A glassy, dark green glassy substance produced by the reaction of a meteor impact over 15 million years ago.	Dark green to green black. Semi transparent. Glassy look and feel.	5 to 6	Moldavites are found in a "splash field" centered around Moldavia in former Czechoslovakia and are believed to have come from a meteorite crater in Germany.	Although some people believe that it is a true meteorite (formed in outer space), it is more generally believed that it originates from rock which was struck by a meteorite and melted, and combines extraterrestrial and terrestrial properties.
Moonstone	The mineral Oligoclase - a silicate fledspar	White or grey with blue and sometimes rainbow irridescence.	6 to 6.5	Sri Lanka; New York, USA; Russia; Sweden and Canada	The color play in Moonstone is caused by light reflecting within tiny layers of the stone. Feldspar inclusions as well as the size of the layers give moonstone its irridescent color play, similar to Labradorite, its sister stone.
Obsidian	Volcanic Silica Glass	Dark green to dark brown and black, also can show sheens of gold or green, yellow, blue and/or purple coloration. Sometimes with white inclusions (Snowflake Obsidian).	5 to 5.5	Italy; Mexico; Scotland; Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah, California, Washington and Idaho, USA,	Obsidian is the result of volcanic lava coming in contact with water. Often the lava pours into a lake or ocean and is cooled quickly. This process produces a glassy texture in the resulting rock. Iron and magnesium give the obsidian a dark green to black color. Obsidian has been used by ancient people as a cutting tool, for weapons, and for ceremonial purposes and is sometimes found by archaeologists in excavations.
Onyx	A cryptocrystalline form of Quartz, sometimes with white, brown or orange banding.	Black, sometimes with white,brown, tan or orange banding. Orange banded onyx is called Sardonyx.	7	Everywhere where quartz can be found.	Onyx was used in Egypt as early as the Second Dynasty to make bowls and other pottery items. Onyx is originally an Assyrian word meaning ring. Onyx is a form of Chalcedony.
Opal	Hydrated Silicon Dioxide	white, colorless, pale yellow, pale red, gray, blue or black	5.5 to 6	USA, Mexico, Australia, England and the Czech Republic among others.	Opal displays a color play called "fire". This fire is caused by the molecular arrangement of tiny spheres of silicon and oxygen. The spheres form pockets in which light is defracted and comes out in several different wavelengths. The absence of these pockets will result in lack of fire. Opal is a mineraloid with no specific crystal structure.
Pearl	A hard mass produced by the soft tissue or nacre, of a living shelled mollusk. Pearl consists of calcium carbonate in concentric layers.	white, black or creamy white. Other colors occur naturally but are rare and depend on the species of shell in which it grew. Pearls can be dyed a variety of colors.	N/A	Pearls can be found in any body of water, saltwater or freshwater with shelled mollusks.	Pearls are onten "cultured" or grown in a laboratory. Natural pearls consist of 100% shell nacre, the substance the aminal secretes which produces the pearl. Cultured pearls use a non-pearl body with an outer layer of nacre. A pre-formed bead is inserted into a host oyster, a few layers of nacre are secreted and adhere to the bead over a period of about 6 months at which point the pearl is removed. X-ray of the layers of nacre will reveal a cultured pearl versus a natural pearl.
Peridot	A gemstone variety of Olivine.	Shades of green to yellow-green	6.5 to 7	Peridot/olivine is mined in North Carolina, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, and New Mexico, in the US; and in Australia, Brazil, China, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Norway, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.	The color of Peridot varies based on the amount of iron present. Peridot is one of the only gemstones with 1 color. Peridot is often reffered to as the "poor man's emerald". It is the birthstone for August. The largest cut Peridot is 310 carats. The name comes from the French word "Peritot" meaning "unclear" probably due to cloudy inclusions found in larger specimen. Gem quality peridot is rare.
Quartz	Silicone Dioxide, the most common mineral found on earth. It is found in almost every rock known and nearly every geologic environment on earth.	It is the most varied mineral in terms of varities, colors and forms. It comes in all colors from clear to pink, purple, blue, green, brown, gray etc...	7 but less in cryptocrystalline varieties such as chalcedony, onyx and agates.	Found Worldwide	Quartz is broken down by 3 major crystal structures. Macrocrystalline varieties such as Amethyst, Citrine, Smokey Quartz, Rose Quartz have large crystals which can easily be identified with the naked eye. Cryptocrystalline or Microcrystalline varieties have a crystalline structure that is only visable under magnification. Cryptocrystalline or Microcrystalline quartz is known as Chalcedony which is broken down into several varities including onyx, carnelian, chrysoprase, sardonyx, agate, bloodstone and others.
Rhodochrosite	Manganese Carbonate	Varying shades of pink to almost white with banding similar to marble. Rhodochrosite has portions in some specimen which let light through, giving the effect that the color is lit from within the stone. Hold it up to a light to see this effect.	3.5 to 4	USA, Argentine, Peru, Romania, England, Germany, Namibia, Mexico, South Africa, Canada	Rhodochrosite occurs as a hydrothermal vein mineral along with other manganese minerals in low temperature ore deposits as in the silver mines of Romania where it was first found. Quality banded specimen are often used in ornamental jewelry. Its main use is as an ore of manganese which is a key component of low-cost stainless steel formulations and certain alluminium alloys.
Rhodonite	Manganese inosilicate	Pink or red to orange with black inclusions.	5.5 to 6.5	Russia, Australia, Sweden, Brazil, USA.	Rhodonite is often confused with the mineral Rhodochrosite which is streaked with white inclusions such as calcite and is reactive to acids. Rhodonite has inclusions of black Manganese and is not reactive to acid. It is named after the "Rhodon" greek word for rose because of its color.
Ruby	Red Corundum - Aluminum Oxide	Red - The non-red varieties of corundum are called Sapphires.	9	Thailand, India, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, North Carolina in the U.S., Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, Kampuchea, and Burma.	The red color in ruby is caused by trace amounts of the element chromium. The best shade of red for ruby is often given the name "pigeon blood red", but ruby can be any shade of red up to almost pink. The presence of needle like inclusions of the mineral rutile can cause a 6 rayed star effect calles asterism in some specimen known as "Star Ruby". The first lasers were made with man made ruby crystals because they can sometimes fluoresce or display the phosphorescence which makes a laser possible.
Sapphire	All non red varities of the mineral corundum - Aluminum Oxide	All colors of the spectrum ecxept red.	9	Thailand, India, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, North Carolina in the U.S., Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, Kampuchea, and Burma.	Many of the finest watches have crystal faces made of artificial sapphire - these are extremely durable and scratch resistant. The presence of needle like inclusions of the mineral rutile can cause a 6 rayed star effect calles asterism in some specimen known as "Star Sapphire". Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium and chromium give corundum and Sapphires their blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange or greenish color.
Serpentine	Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide	Commonly olive green. Rarely yellow or golden, brown, or black	3 to 4.5	Italy, Russia, Switzerland, USA, Canada	Serpentine is the general name for several members of a polymorphic group of minerals. Because of its softness it is great for carving. Serpentines are used for a number of industrial purposes, such as railway ballasts, building materials, and the asbestiform types find use as thermal and electrical insulation.
Tiger's Eye	Tiger eye is quartz that contains oriented fibres of crocidolite that have been replaced by silica.	Golden brown, to yellow and dark brown. Blue varities are reffered to as Hawk's Eye and there is a red variety called Red Tiger's Eye.	7	USA, South Africa, Canada, China, Brazil, Namibia, India and Burma.	Tiger's eye is quartz that contains oriented fibres of crocidolite that have been replaced by silica. Tiger's eye is a chatoyant gemstone(it has the Cat's Eye effect). Tiger eye typically has lustrous alternating yellow or brown bands. Tiger iron is a rock composed chiefly of tiger's eye, red jasper and black hematite.
Topaz	Aluminum silicate fluoride hydroxide	Clear, yellow, golden orange, red, blue and green	8	Brazil; Pakistan; San Diego Co, California; Ural Mountains, Russia; Mexico and the Thomas Range, Utah.	Blue Topaz is rarely natural and is produced by irradiating and then heating clear crystals. When heated, yellow topaz often becomes reddish-pink. A recent trend in jewelry is the manufacture of topaz specimens that display iridescent colors, by applying a thin layer of titanium oxide via physical vapor deposition, this stone is then sold as 'mystic topaz'. Yellow topaz is the traditional November birthstone, and the state gemstone for the US State of Utah.
Tourmaline	Tourmaline is a group of different minerals with similar characteristics. Tourmaline is defined as crystal silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium.	A variety of colors from Blue to green, pink and black.	7 to 7.5	USA, Brazil & Africa	Bi-colored and multicolored crystals are common, reflecting variations of fluid chemistry during crystallisation. Crystals may be green at one end and pink at the other, or green on the outside and pink inside: this type is called watermelon tourmaline. The 14 recognized minerals in the Tourmaline group.
Trilobite	Fossilized remains of segmented creatures which lived over 500 million years ago. Trilobite became extinct 250 million yers ago.	brow to black to grey-black	n/a	Utah, Ohio & New York USA, Canada, China, Germany, British Columbia and the U.K.	Because of their diversity and an easily fossilized exoskeleton, they left an extensive fossil record with some 17,000 known species spanning Paleozoic time. Trilobites have been important in biostratigraphy, paleontology, and plate tectonics research.
Turquoise	Hydrated Copper Aluminum Phosphate	Blue, blue-green, green with black matrix or veining. "Sleeping Beauty" turquoise has a rare vibrant blue color and lacks the black veining.	5 to 6	Arizona and New Mexico, USA; Australia; Iran; Afghanistan and other locallities in the Middle East.	Turquoise has been mined since about 6000 B.C. by the Egyptians. Hardness and richness of colour are two of the major factors in determining the value of turquoise; while colour is a matter of individual taste, generally speaking, the most desirable is a strong sky to "robin's egg" blue, Turquoise has been used by Native Americans for centuries as an ornamental stone and for jewelry. It is one of the most valuable opaque gemstones.
Unakite	A variant of granite composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote, and generally clear quartz.	Green and Pink	6 to 7	South Africa, Sierra Leone, Brazil, and China as well as the United States	Unakite was first discovered in the United States in the Unakas mountains of North Carolina. Unakite is often used in jewelry and other lapidary work such as eggs, spheres and other carvings. Unakite is the official state stone of Virginia.
Zoisite	Calcium Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide	Gray, yellow, blue, green. The blue gem grade variety is called Tanzanite.	6.5	Tanzania (tanzanite), Kenya (anyolite), Norway (thulite), Switzerland, Austria, India, Pakistan, and Washington in the USA.	Zoisite was discovered in the early 1800's. It is often found occuring naturally with Ruby in a green variety. This variety called ruby-zoisite is used to make cabochons for jewelry as well as in many carvings.

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