10 Lazulite and Pyrite in Matrix Oval Cabochons. Graves Mountain, Lincoln Co., Georgia, USA. 14 mm x 10 mm. 46.5 ct. total weight.
An interesting stone for a jewelry project, lazulite is a very rare magnesium phosphate, and Graves Mountain is the premier locality for the opaque bi-pyramidal twinned crystals, and the only occurrence where the crystals are large enough to cut into gemstones. The deposit no longer produces the larger crystals, but the matrix material is still occasionally found.
The quartz material of the matrix almost always includes some iron pyrite and microscopic rutile crystals.
Lazulite is sometimes confused with 2 better known and more common minerals: lazurite and azurite. Lazulite frequently appears as euhedral crystals rather than in massive form.
Mohs Hardness 5.5
Specific Gravity 3.04 to 3.17
https://www.gemdat.org/gem-2356.html
https://www.mindat.org/min-2356.html
LC035
An interesting stone for a jewelry project, lazulite is a very rare magnesium phosphate, and Graves Mountain is the premier locality for the opaque bi-pyramidal twinned crystals, and the only occurrence where the crystals are large enough to cut into gemstones. The deposit no longer produces the larger crystals, but the matrix material is still occasionally found.
The quartz material of the matrix almost always includes some iron pyrite and microscopic rutile crystals.
Lazulite is sometimes confused with 2 better known and more common minerals: lazurite and azurite. Lazulite frequently appears as euhedral crystals rather than in massive form.
Mohs Hardness 5.5
Specific Gravity 3.04 to 3.17
https://www.gemdat.org/gem-2356.html
https://www.mindat.org/min-2356.html
LC035
An interesting stone for a jewelry project, lazulite is a very rare magnesium phosphate, and Graves Mountain is the premier locality for the opaque bi-pyramidal twinned crystals, and the only occurrence where the crystals are large enough to cut into gemstones. The deposit no longer produces the larger crystals, but the matrix material is still occasionally found.
The quartz material of the matrix almost always includes some iron pyrite and microscopic rutile crystals.
Lazulite is sometimes confused with 2 better known and more common minerals: lazurite and azurite. Lazulite frequently appears as euhedral crystals rather than in massive form.
Mohs Hardness 5.5
Specific Gravity 3.04 to 3.17
https://www.gemdat.org/gem-2356.html
https://www.mindat.org/min-2356.html
LC035