Description
PHENAKITE SPECIMEN
This is the raw phenakite specimen with carbonate. Dimensions: 1.4 x 0.9 x 0.9″ (3.6 x 2.4 x 2.3cm). Weight – 1.3oz (37 grams). Origin: Russia, Siberia.
Some information about phenakite:
Phenakite or phenacite is a fairly rare nesosilicate mineral consisting of beryllium orthosilicate, Be2SiO4. Occasionally used as a gemstone, phenakite occurs as isolated crystals.There is no cleavage, and the fracture is conchoidal.
The Mohs hardness is high, being 7.5 – 8; the specific gravity is 2.96. The crystals are sometimes perfectly colorless and transparent, but more often they are greyish or yellowish and only translucent; occasionally they are pale rose-red.
Its name comes from Ancient Greek meaning “deceiver” due to its close visual similarity to quartz, named by Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld in 1833.
