Variscite
A green phosphate mineral used since Neolithic times.
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Variscite is a relatively rare hydrated aluminium phosphate mineral. Its green color, which can lead to confusion with turquoise, results from the presence of small amounts of trivalent chromium. The mineral is usually greener in color than turquoise.
Geology
Variscite forms as a secondary mineral when phosphate-bearing water reacts with aluminium-rich rocks near the surface. It appears as fine-grained masses in nodules, cavity fillings, and crusts, and often contains white veins of crandallite.
First described in 1837, it was named for Variscia, the historical name of the Vogtland in Germany. At one time it was called Utahlite, and materials that may be either turquoise or variscite have been marketed as "variquoise." Nevada variscite typically shows black spiderwebbing in the matrix and is often mistaken for green turquoise; most recent Nevada production comes from Lander County and Esmeralda County, especially the Candelaria Hills. Notable localities include Lucin, Snowville, and Fairfield in Utah, and it has also been found in Wyoming, Germany, Australia, Poland, Spain, Italy (Sardinia), Brazil, and Iran (Yazd).
Jewelry
Variscite has been used in Europe for personal ornaments, particularly beads, since Neolithic times. Excavations in the 19th century of burial mounds in Brittany, France—including the tomb of Mané er Hroëck in Locmariaquer and the Tumiac mound in Arzon, dating between 4500 and 4000 BCE—yielded many ornamental pieces, beads, and pendants made from a green stone that Alexis Damour identified as a hydrated aluminum phosphate containing some iron, which he equated with the callaïs described by Pliny.
Variscite has also been found in Neolithic archaeological sites in Spain. During Roman times, it was used to imitate emerald crystals as pendants, carved into prisms with eight faces instead of emerald's six. It was not until the 19th century that all European variscite was determined to come from three Spanish sites: Gavá (Barcelona), Palazuelo de las Cuevas (Zamora), and Encinasola (Huelva). Today it is used as a semi-precious stone for carvings and ornamental work, often in silversmithing as a substitute for turquoise, and is generally less expensive than turquoise due to being less commonly available and less well known.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Variscite (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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