ZOISITE
Rock&Gem Magazine|December 2020
A Massive Mineral Marked by Christmas- Like Color and Appeal
BOB JONES
ZOISITE

It is hard to believe zoisite is a massive mineral that makes lovely Christmas gems, appears in a cartoon, and is also one of the world’s more valuable gems.

I first encountered zoisite in the 1950s when I was already actively attending club meetings and visiting mineral shops. Later, for over two decades, I drove across the country each summer to work on my dad’s farm. Since I was able to stop at countless rock shops during these travels, I became well aware of a remarkable green and red lapidary rock in significant quantities. In those early days, it was described as a recent find from Africa and was immediately popular with lapidary artists and collectors, alike.

DISCOVERING ZOISITE

The massive green mineral was crystalline zoisite, which was slightly sugary looking. Locked in the green stone were hexagonal deep red crystals of ruby, which contrasted with the green host rock. The ruby crystals varied in size and were opaque to translucent in perfect hexagonal form.

The ruby crystal terminations were as much as four inches across. In some of the larger pieces, the exposed termination end of the ruby was slightly translucent, so when domed and polished, the stone showed a lovely chatoyant shimmer. There were no free-standing ruby crystals, but the lovely combination of red ruby and green zoisite in a single rock was attractive to lapidary artists, who soon recognized the red-green combination as an ideal Christmas theme.

A third mineral in the red-green rock was small black spots and crystalline rods, scattered throughout the green zoisite in stark contrast to the red and green colors. In the early days, the black mineral was initially labeled hornblende. Though I did not do lapidary work, I was curious enough to learn about the zoisite-ruby combination.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 2020 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ROCK&GEM MAGAZINEView All
MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER
Rock&Gem Magazine

MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER

In California, there are very few places to collect semi-precious stones. Many locations from the past have been either exhausted of the material or the land has been developed.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
THE ACORN
Rock&Gem Magazine

THE ACORN

The briolette gemstone has the same design attributes of a regular gemstone, however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB
Rock&Gem Magazine

HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB

To protect a specimen cab, often a cap is needed. In my case, I had a slab with the because of the color of the background and the pattern. This background had a more silicified consistency than most sandstones. It had no graininess like most sandstone, so I'm inclined to compare it to a jasper. The pattern was typical of a dendrite.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones
Rock&Gem Magazine

The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones

For the first time, the Anne Brontë rock collection underwent complete description and identification, and along with Professor Hazel Hutchison of Leeds University and Dr. Enrique Lozano Diz at ELODIZ (a company specializing in spectroscopy analysis), an analysis of that collaboration, Anne Brontë and Geology: A Study of her Collection of Stones, was published in April 2022 in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the peer-reviewed journal, Brontë Studies & Gazette.\"

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2024
Amazing Women with Rock-Solid Careers
Rock&Gem Magazine

Amazing Women with Rock-Solid Careers

Explorers, Geologists, Educators & Jewelry Makers...

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2024
The Case of the Bleeding Glacier
Rock&Gem Magazine

The Case of the Bleeding Glacier

It's a gory sight called Blood Falls. Ever since British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor first noted it in 1911, it has been a mystery.

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
Asteroid Samples Are Said to Hold Invaluable Secrets
Rock&Gem Magazine

Asteroid Samples Are Said to Hold Invaluable Secrets

If Only Scientists Can Pop the Lid!

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
Paleontologists Embrace a New Method for Seeing Fossils within Rock
Rock&Gem Magazine

Paleontologists Embrace a New Method for Seeing Fossils within Rock

Fossil bone can be delicate. Attempts to remove it from a hard rock matrix by picking and scratching or etching with acids can be time-consuming and/or may end up obliterating that which you hope to study.

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
Need a Map of the Ocean Floor?
Rock&Gem Magazine

Need a Map of the Ocean Floor?

Call in the Seals!

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024
A Step Closer to Hydrogen, the "Climate-Friendly Fuel"
Rock&Gem Magazine

A Step Closer to Hydrogen, the "Climate-Friendly Fuel"

As I reported last June, the world is racing to find sustainably renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy to replace our carbon-based reserves of coal, oil and gas.

time-read
1 min  |
March 2024