Hiddenite
Hiddenite is a green to yellowish green colored variety of the mineral spodumene due to the addition of chromium . Other varieties are the kunzite and the light yellow triphan .
The hiddenite owes its name to the American explorer William Earl Hidden (1853–1918), who found the gemstone in 1879 in Alexander County in the US state of North Carolina .
Hiddenite is only used as a gemstone . Just like kunzite, it is mostly provided with a step cut , less often with a brilliant cut. Pay attention to the alignment of the crystal axes, since spodumens are strongly pleochroic , that is, the colors change in the different directions of the crystalline structure between bluish green, emerald green and yellow green. So that the stone shows strong colors after being cut , the facet table is usually aligned perpendicular to the main axis.
literature
- Walter Schumann: Precious stones and gemstones. All kinds and varieties. 1900 unique pieces . 16th revised edition. BLV Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-8354-1171-5 , pp. 51, 130 .
- Bernhard Bruder: Beautified stones. Recognizing imitations and manipulations in gemstones and minerals . Neue Erde Verlag, Saarbrücken 2005, ISBN 3-89060-079-4 , p. 78 .
