[Jewelry making - Article 00172] - Re: [Orchid] Africa Blue

[Julia Potts]

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ron,

    turns out dumortierite or dumortierite quartz is also known as BLUE
    QUARTZ. i found this info on the internet on a mineral collecting
    site.....thought it might help clear this up. so sorry, it seems "blue
    quartz" to be a legit term in mineralogical circles. Is it possible
    that different terms are used or acceptable in mineralogical/lapidary
    or gemological circles??? 

          Dumortierite is a boro-silicate mineral that is used as a
          popular ornamental stone. It has a deep violet to blue color
          that is very attractive and unusual. Although it is not used as
          a gemstone due to a lack of clarity, it does have good hardness
          and a bright color. 

          Massive dumortierite can be carved into cabochons, beads,
          sculptures, eggs and spheres. A variety of quartz called
          dumortierite quartz is massive quartz colored blue by included
          crystals of dumortierite. Dumortierite can be misidentified as
          other ornamental stones such as sodalite, lazurite and
          lazulite. Blue sodalite has more white portions and is much
          lighter in density. Lazurite and lazulite are not fibrous. In
          China, some dumortierite has been used as an imitation lapis
          lazuli in carvings. 

          Dumortierite is related to several other nesosilicate
          boro-silicates such as grandidierite, harkerite, holtite,
          kornerupine, magnesiodumortierite, prismatine and werdingite.
          Dumortierite is far more common than all of these. In fact, it
          is the most common boro-silicate with the exception of the more
          common members of the Tourmaline Group. 

          Dumortierite is commonly found in aluminum rich metamorphic
          rocks in contact metamorphic regions and in some pegmatites. It
          can alter to the mineral pyrophyllite. Dumortierite is named
          for the French paleontologist, Eugene Dumortier.

julia potts
julia potts studios


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