Chrysocolla

Rough Chrysocolla from Eagle Eye Mine, La Paz Co., Arizona, USA

Chrysocolla is a sky blue, blue green, green colored hydrated copper silicate mineral with traces of oxides of copper, iron and manganese.

The general structure of chrysocolla is botryoidal. It is associated with malachite, turquoise, jasper and quartz. Chrysocolla mixed with malachite and turquoise is known as eilat stone. Eilat stone is the best simulant for turquoise and sometimes can not be differentiated easily by visual observation. Chrysocolla mixed with jasper is known as parrot-wing which is of course very rare and sought by many jewelers. Chrysocolla mixed with quartz is known as stellarite which is pale blue in color.

Chrysocolla along with eilat stone, parrot wing and stellarite is extensively used in jewelries as beads, rings, ear rings, pendants, lockets, bracelets etc.


Properties
Chemical Composition: 
Hydrated Copper Silicate - CuSiO3.2H2O
Classification / Type: 
-
Colors / Varieties: 
Sky blue, blue-green, green; with traces of oxides of Cu, Fe and Mn is brown-black, mixed with quartz matrix.
Crystal System / Forms: 
Crypto-crystalline aggregates with an enamel like texture.
Hardness: 
2 - 4; increases to 7 with more <a href="/quartz/">quartz</a> mixtures.
Specific Gravity: 
2.00 - 2.45
Cleavage / Fracture: 
Nil.
Optic Character: 
Anisotropic (D.R.); Uniaxial positive / A.G.G.
Lustre: 
Greasy to vitreous.
Refractive Index / Birefringence: 
1.50 (mean R.I.)
Pleochroism: 
None.
Dispersion: 
None.
Magnification: 
Aggregate surface texture. Botryoidal.
U.V. Fluorescence: 
Variable
Spectrum: 
Not characteristic.
Cause of Color: 
Color varies with the impurity present. The blue color is due to the presence of copper.
Treatment (Enhancement): 
-
Specific Tests & Remarks: 
  • Turns yellow with hydrochloric acid.
  • Eilat stone: Chrysocolla mixed with malachite and turquoise.
  • Parrot-wing: Chrysocolla mixed with jasper (brownish-green).
  • Stellarite: Chrysocolla mixed with quartz has higher properties (light blue).
Synthesis: 
None.
Simulants (with key separation tests): 
Turquoise (R.I., S.G., spectrum, structure)
Geological Occurrence: 
Oxidized zones of copper deposits. May be mixed with copper carbonates such as malachite and turquoise.
Sources: 
U.S.A. (New Mexico), Russia, Chile, Peru and Zaire.
Cuts & Uses: 
Cabochon, beads, carvings, etc.

Did you know?

Jewellery is one of the most bought products online. An estimated $1 billion USD of diamonds are bought annually via the Internet. Over 40 million people use the Internet to trade!

In Germany, the garland of ambers is hung around the necks of the infants, so that their teeth might come out without much trouble.

In Turkey, people fix a piece of amber in the hubble-bubble, dogged by an age old belief that the presence of the jewel would destroy all the germs and no disease would spread, even after many have dragged their puffs from it.

In Greece, people think if wine is poured into the cups made of amethyst, one does not get drunk after drinking that.

In Rome, a talisman having coral pieces is considered very auspicious to quell the bad spells of evil look. The Romans were in the habit of hanging chains made of ancient coral pieces from the cradle of the infants to protect them from evil effects.

In China, people wear rings studded with tiny conch or oyster shells as they believe it cures all aches such as stomach ache, worms and like.

In India, pendants made of silver and studded with pearls are hung from the necks of the children to save them from any bad effects.

Greeks still believe, if women wear blue sapphires then no sense of immorality would pollute their mind nor can any fear of the supernatural can trouble them.

The Pope Innocent III had circulated an order asking all the priests wear blue sapphire, so that morality can be strengthened.

It is said about turquoise, that when the stone changes its color into yellow, it actually signals bad times to the person who wears it.

It is believed that a turquoise gifted to a friend or a lover turns his or her life into one of happiness and good luck.

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