![]() ![]() It is abundant, common, and found in large quantities at numerous locations around the world. Its pistachio-green color and crystalline texture cause many people to call it unakite, but epidosite is the proper name.Rose quartz is the name used for pink specimens of the mineral quartz. It looks similar to unakite, but with little or no pink feldspar.Įpidosite is also an attractive material used to make beads, cabochons, tumbled stones, and other items. The History of the Pompton Pink Granite: New Jersey's Prized Building Stone by Rich Volkert, New Jersey Geological Survey Information Circular, 2007.Įpidosite is the name of a rock that is composed mainly of epidote and quartz. Aleinikoff Geology of the National Capital Region - Field Trip Guidebook, United States Geological Survey Circular 1264, pages 17 to 75, 2004. Mesoproterozoic Geology of the Blue Ridge Province in North-Central Virginia: Petrologic and Structural Perspectives on Grenvillian Orogenesis and Paleozoic Tectonic Processes by Richard P. Granite GeoGallery, a page on the Geology, Gems and Minerals Subject Guide on the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History website. These minerals also have perfect cleavage and could break with a moderate impact. The hardness of orthoclase and epidote are low enough that they will show signs of wear when used in a bracelet or ring. In jewelry projects, unakite works best in pieces that will not be subjected to abrasion or impact. It polishes well with inexpensive aluminum oxide polish, but tin oxide, cerium oxide, and titanium oxide also produce good results on a felt lap or in a rock tumbler. Unakite cuts best using diamond abrasives but can also be cut or tumbled using silicon carbide abrasives. It is only when the grain size is larger, or the piece being cut is very small, that differences in hardness will make cutting difficult. The Mohs hardness of the primary minerals (epidote = 6 to 7 orthoclase = 6) are close enough that severe undercutting or overcutting usually does not occur. It is suitable for cutting by a person who has a small amount of lapidary experience. Unweathered, fine-grained unakite with mineral crystals less than a few millimeters in size is relatively easy to work. It is usually cut into cabochons, beads, pendants, or freeform shapes. Unakite is not seen in fine jewelry and is seldom seen in commercial jewelry, but it is a common stone used in craft and lapidary jewelry. The pieces shown here are about one to two inches across and were mined in South Africa. Unakite: Pieces of crushed unakite that could be used in a rock tumbler or used as a crushed stone at a construction site. If you are interested in obtaining unakite jewelry, the best places to look are rock shops, new age and crystal stores, or gem and mineral shows. It is most often seen mounted in sterling silver, strung as beads, or wire-wrapped and used as pendant stones. Although it is not seen in fine jewelry, unakite is a very popular gemstone in craft and lapidary jewelry. Unakite is often cut into cabochons, beads, and other shapes that will be used in jewelry. The uses of unakite are summarized below. Unakite has a surprising range of uses: it is made into crushed stone used in highway construction, and it is cut and polished for use as a gem. Unakite is used as a construction material, an architectural stone, a lapidary rough, and a gem material. ![]() Unakite forms when granite is altered by hydrothermal fluids, and plagioclase in the granite is transformed into epidote. These colors have helped Unakite become a popular lapidary material. ![]() Unakite is a pink and green metamorphic rock composed of pink orthoclase, green epidote, and colorless to milky quartz. ![]()
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