Everything about Aventurine totally explained
Aventurine is a form of
quartz, characterised by its translucency and the presence of platy
mineral inclusions that give a shimmering or glistening effect termed
aventurescence.
The most common colour of aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue, or gray. Chrome-bearing
fuchsite (a variety of
muscovite mica) is the classic inclusion, and gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Oranges and browns are attributed to
hematite or
goethite. Because aventurine is a
rock, its physical properties vary: its
specific gravity may lie between 2.64-2.69 and its
hardness is somewhat lower than single-crystal
quartz at around 6.5.
Aventurine feldspar or
sunstone can be confused with orange and red aventurine quartzite, although the former is generally of a higher transparency. Aventurine is often banded and an overabundance of fuchsite may render it opaque, in which case it may be mistaken for
malachite at first glance.
The name
aventurine derives from the
Italian "a ventura" meaning "to cometh". This is an allusion to the lucky discovery of
aventurine glass or
goldstone at some point in the 18th century. Although it was known first, goldstone is now a common imitation of aventurine and sunstone. Goldstone is distinguished visually from the latter two minerals by its coarse flecks of
copper, dispersed within the glass in an unnaturally uniform manner. It is usually a golden brown, but may also be found in blue or green.
The majority of green and blue-green aventurine originates in
India (particularly in the vicinity of
Mysore and
Madras) where it's employed by prolific artisans. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in
Chile,
Spain and
Russia. Most material is carved into beads and figurines with only the finer examples fashioned into
cabochons, later being set into
jewellery.
Main markets for aventurine are landscape stone, building stone, aquaria, monuments, and jewellery.
Further Information
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