Specimen #2576

Name: Zoisite

Type: Gem

Locality: Afghanistan

Favorite? N

Fluorescent? N

Size: 3.19 mm

Weight: 0.13 ct

Acquired: 2022-01-06

Source: Arkenstone Auctions

Label: N

Comment: A rarely seen pale lilac colored Zoisite gem from Afghanistan. Now Zoisite is best known to most collectors in its blue variety, Tanzanite, but there are several localities for gem grade Zoisite outside of Merelani. Purple is a rare color in the mineral world, and good crystals of purple Zoisite are certainly hard to find. This stone is small, so the color is very soft, but I've seen larger crystals of this material with a richer purple hue. A cool little gem for a rare stone collection.

Minerals: Zoisite (Ca₂Al₃(SiO₄)₃(OH) = Ca₂AlAl₂(SiO₄)(Si₂O₇)O(OH))

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M02576-01.jpg: