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How do you identify apatite?
It is usually green in color, but can be yellow, brown, blue, purple, pink, or colorless. These colors are often so vivid that apatite has frequently been cut as a gemstone. Apatite is a brittle material. It breaks by both fracture and cleavage, but the cleavage is generally indistinct.
What does apatite look like?
Apatite is often mistaken for other minerals….Apatite.
| Apatite group | |
|---|---|
| Color | Transparent to translucent, usually green, less often colorless, yellow, blue to violet, pink, brown. |
| Crystal habit | Tabular, prismatic crystals, massive, compact or granular |
| Cleavage | [0001] indistinct, [1010] indistinct |
| Fracture | Conchoidal to uneven |
What color apatite is most valuable?
The Apatite gemstones described as neon blue, electric blue or swimming pool blue resemble the Paraiba Blue Tourmalines and are the most expensive.
How do you identify apatite in the thin section?
Due to the phosphate content, apatite crystals are usually small and can be hard to detect in thin section. The apatite crystal is very small and elongated. Its high relief allows it to stick out from the other colorless minerals. Under cross-polars apatite exhibits a first order gray color.
What Colour is apatite?
Apatites are transparent to translucent, most commonly green, but can also be colorless, yellow, blue to violet, pink or brown. Transparent stones with good color, as seen here, can be faceted into gemstones. Major sources for gem quality apatite are Brazil, Burma, Madagascar, and Mexico.
How common is apatite?
While apatite is a common mineral, gem-quality apatite is quite rare. Apatite is known by gemstone connoisseurs especially for two colors; the Paraiba-like blue-green, and the leek-green color that once earned apatite the name “asparagus stone”.
Is apatite rare or common?
Where can I find apatite?
Apatite is found in Myanmar (Burma), Brazil, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Norway, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Mexico, Canada and the United States.
What are the physical properties of apatite mineral?
Physical Properties. Apatite is best known for its use as an index mineral with a hardness of 5 in the Mohs Hardness Scale. It is usually green in color, but can be yellow, brown, blue, purple, pink, or colorless. These colors are often so vivid that apatite has frequently been cut as a gemstone.
Where can you find apatite in the Earth?
Apatite occasionally occurs as well-formed hexagonal crystals in hydrothermal veins and pegmatite pockets. These crystals often have a very high clarity and a vivid color and have been cut into gems for collectors. Mineral collectors also enjoy these well-formed apatite crystals, and the prices paid for them often exceeds their value as gem rough.
Can you use apatite as a gemstone?
As a gemstone, apatite is more popular with gem collectors than it is with jewelry buyers. The mineral has a Mohs hardness of 5, breaks with parting, and is very brittle. These characteristics make it too fragile for use in most types of jewelry.
How are apatite deposits of igneous origin formed?
APATITE DEPOSITS OF IGNEOUS ORIGIN Apatite deposits of igneous origin occur as intrusive masses or sheets, as hydrothermal veins or disseminated replacements, as marginal differentiations along or near the boundaries of in trusions, or as pegmatites.