Sapphirine

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Template:Sapphirine

From Kolonne,Sri lanka

Sapphirine image gallery

Sapphirine is a rare mineral, a silicate of magnesium and aluminium with the chemical formula (Mg,Al)8(Al,Si)6O20 (with iron as a major impurity). Named for its sapphire-like colour, sapphirine is primarily of interest to researchers and collectors: well-formed crystals are treasured and occasionally cut into gemstones. Sapphirine has also been synthesized for experimental purposes via a hydrothermal process.

Chemical composition

(Mg,Al)8(Al,Si)6O20

Typical colours range from light to dark sapphire blue, bluish to brownish green, green, and bluish or greenish gray to black; less common colours include yellow, pale red, and pink to purplish pink. Sapphirine is relatively hard (7.5 on Mohs scale), usually transparent to translucent, with a vitreous lustre. Crystallising in the monoclinic system, sapphirine is typically anhedral or granular in habit, but may also be tabular or in aggregates: Twinning is uncommon. Fracture is subconchodial to uneven, and there is one direction of perfect cleavage. The specific gravity of sapphirine is 3.54–3.51, and its streak is white.

Diagnostics

Color

Dark blue, bluish to brownish green,green,gray

Diaphaneity

Transparent to opaque.

Refractometer

1.701 to 1.718 with a Birefringence 0.006 to 0.007

Specific gravity

The specif gravity of Sapphirine is 3.54–3.51

Polariscope

Spectra

Phenomena

Occurrence

Large crystals of fine clarity and colour are known from very few locales: The Central Province (Hakurutale and Munwatte) of Sri Lanka has long been known as a source of facetable greenish blue to dark blue material, and crystals up to 30 mm or more in size have been found in Fianarantsoa (Betroka District) and Toliara Province (Androy and Anosy regions), southern Madagascar. Sapphirine's type locality is Fiskenaesset (Fiskenaes), Nuuk region, western Greenland, which is where the mineral was discovered in 1819.

Synthetics

Sources

  • Gems Their Sources, Descriptions and Identification 4th Edition (1990) - Robert Webster (6th ed.)
  • Edelsteinkuntliches Praktikum - Ulrich Henn, Gemmologie Jahrgang 44 / Heft 4 / Dezember 1995, Spinell pp.54-62
  • Diploma course notes 1987 - Gem-A
  • Über die Eigenshaften von im Flussmittelverfahren hergestellten synthetischen roten und blauen Spinellen aus Russland - U. Henn/H. Bank, Gemmologie Jahrgang 41 / Heft 1 / April 1992, pp1-7
  • Black Opaque Gem Minerals Associated with Corundum in the Alluvial Deposits of Thailand. Australian Gemmologist, 2008, Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 242-253. Dr. Seriwat Saminpanya