Azurite [Cu 3 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 2 ] is a copper carbonate mineral. It owes its name to its beautiful azure-blue color,which makes it a very popular and well-known mineral. It usually occurs with green Malachite, whichmay form green stains or specks on Azurite crystals or aggregates. The two minerals sometimes occuradmixed or […]
Corundum is an aluminum oxide mineral (Al2O3). The gem varieties of Corundum are Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby is the red variety of Corundum. The red color is caused by traces of chromium replacing aluminum in the crystal structure. Sapphire can be blue, red, pink, yellow, grey, or golden-brown. The most valued color is blue.
A variety of Microcline that is a member of the Feldspar mineral group. Amazonite is a potassium aluminum silicate mineral. Its color is usually blue, green, or bluish-green. Amazonite often has white lines or alternating streaks mixed in and can have uneven color distribution. The imperfections in color are often caused by inclusions of white […]
Agate is the banded variety of Chalcedony which is the microcrystalline variety of Quartz (silicon dioxide). Therefore, these are called the banded wonders of Nature. Agate is found in a wide variety of colors (Green, Blue, Red, Black, Purple, White, Yellow, Pink, Grey, Orange, or Brown). Subsequently, the trace elements mixed with the silica in […]
Tourmaline is a birthstone for October, along with opal. “Tourmaline” is the name of a large group of boron silicate minerals. These minerals share a common crystal structure (Trigonal) and similar physical properties but vary tremendously in chemical composition. They share the elements silicon, aluminum, and boron, but contain a complex mixture of other elements […]
