Description
DIOPSIDE SPECIMEN
This is the raw diopside specimen with calcite. Dimensions: 3.3 x 1.5 x 1.4″ (8.3 x 3.9 x 3.6cm). Weight – 5.3oz (149 grams). Origin: Russia, Siberia.
Some information about diopside:
Diopside is a monoclinic pyroxene mineral. It forms variably colored, but typically dull green crystals in the monoclinic prismatic class. Gemstone quality found in two forms: the black star and the chrome diopside (which includes chromium, giving it a rich green color).
At 5.5–6.5 on the Mohs scale, chrome diopside is relatively soft to scratch. Due to the deep green color of the gem, they sometimes referred to as Siberian emeralds. Though they are on a mineralogical level completely unrelated. Violane is a manganese-rich variety, violet to light blue in color.
This mineral derives its name from the Greek “twice” and “face” in reference to the two ways of orienting the vertical prism. It discovered and first described about 1800, by Brazilian naturalist Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva.
