|
Click on a
letter above to view the list of gems. |
|
|
| Seraphinite is a trade name derived from the Hebrew word "Seraph" referring
to the highest rank of angels in allusion to
the feathery wing patterns made by silvery micaceous inclusions. Clinochlore
is named from the Greek klino meaning inclined
for its inclined optic axes and chloros meaning green, its typical color.
| Discovered
in 1851;
IMA
status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
|
Chemistry
|
|
|
Chemical
Formula: |
(Mg,Fe2+)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH)8
|
|
Magnesium Iron Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide
|
Molecular
Weight: |
595.22 gm
|
Composition: |
Magnesium |
15.31 % |
Mg |
25.39 % |
MgO |
|
Aluminum |
9.07 % |
Al |
17.13 % |
Al2O3 |
|
Iron |
11.73 % |
Fe |
15.09 % |
FeO |
|
Silicon |
14.16 % |
Si |
30.28 % |
SiO2 |
|
Hydrogen |
1.35 % |
H |
12.11 % |
H2O |
|
Oxygen |
48.38 % |
O |
|
|
|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
|
|
Classification
|
|
|
Mineral
Classification: |
Silicates
(Germanates)
|
Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
|
8/H.23-20
|
Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
|
9.EC.55
|
|
9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
E : Phyllosilicates C : Phyllosilicates with mica sheets, composed of tetrahedral and octahedral nets
|
Related
to: |
Chlorite
Group. Forms a solid solution series with its Fe2+-analogue
Chamosite.
|
Varieties: |
Chromian
Clinochlore, Corundophilite, Delessite, Diabantite,
Leuchtenbergite, Nickeloan Clinochlore, Pennine, Ripidolite,
Sheridanite
|
Synonyms: |
Clinochlorite,
Clinocloro, Grastite, Klinochlor, Prochlorite, Seraphinite
|
Polytypes: |
Clinochlore-1MIIb,
Clinochlore-1MIa, Clinochlore-1MIb, Clinochlore-2MIIb,
Clinochlore-IIb, Clinochlore-Ia
|
|
|
Crystal
Data
|
|
|
Crystallography:
|
Monoclinic
- Prismatic
|
Crystal
Habit:
|
In
thin to thick pseudohexagonal crystals, with tapering
pyramidal faces, to 10 cm. Commonly foliated, fibrous,
granular, earthy, massive.
|
Twinning:
|
Twin
plane {001}; twin axis [310], composition plane {001}.
|
|
|
Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
{001}
Perfect
|
Fracture: |
Uneven
|
Tenacity:
|
Laminae
Flexible, Inelastic
|
Moh's
Hardness: |
2.0
- 2.5
|
Density:
|
2.60
- 3.02 (g/cm3)
|
Luminescence:
|
None |
Radioactivity:
|
Not
Radioactive
|
|
|
Optical
Properties
|
|
|
Color: |
Blackish Green, Bluish Green, White, Yellowish Green, or Olive Green
|
Transparency: |
Transparent
to Translucent
|
Luster: |
Greasy,
Pearly, Dull
|
Refractive
Index: |
1.571
- 1.599 Biaxial ( + )
|
Birefringence: |
0.005
- 0.011
|
Dispersion: |
r
< v
|
Pleochroism: |
Visible;
X= light yellow green to light blue-green,
Y=Z= light greenish yellow to light blue-green
|
|
|
Occurances
|
|
|
Geological
Setting: |
A
hydrothermal alteration product of amphiboles, pyroxenes,
biotite. In chlorite schists, serpentinites, marbles,
calc-silicate rocks, amphibolites, less commonly in
ultramafic rocks. In ore veins; a detrital component
of sediments. |
Common
Associations: |
Actinolite,
Biotite, Calcite, Chromite, Dolomite, Olivine, Plagioclase,
Serpentine, Talc, Uvarovite |
Common
Impurities: |
Cr,
Ca |
Type
Locality: |
Brinton's Quarry, West Chester, Westtown Township, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA
|
Year
Discovered: |
1851
|
View
mineral photos: |
Clinochlore
Mineral Photos and Locations |
|
|
More
Information
|
|
|
|
Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
|
|
|
Seraphinite
is the trade name of the gemmy green variety of
the mineral Clinochlore. Clinochlore
is the most common member of the Chlorite Group of minerals
that includes Clinochlore and Chamosite.
A chromium-rich variety of Clinochlore called Kämmererite has
a beautiful, deep lavender to crimson color. Seraphinite often contains micaceous inclusions that exhibit
a wavey chatoyancy similar to Charoite.
Seraphinite is mainly found near the Bratsk and Lake
Baikal region of Eastern Siberia, Russia.
Some
localities for well-crystallized Clinochlore material
are: in the USA, in the Emery mine, Chester, Hampden
Co., Massachusetts; at Texas, Lancaster County, and
West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania; in the Tilly
Foster mine, Brewster, Putnam County, New York. In the
Zillertal, Tirol, Austria. From the Patschtal, Trentino-Alto
Adige; Val Malenco, Lombardy; and at Ala, Piedmont,
Italy. Near Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland. From Ojen,
Malaga Province, Spain. On Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland.
In the Kop Krom [chrome mine], Kop Mountains, near Askale,
Turkey. In Russia, in the Ural Mountains, at Akhmatovsk,
Berbliouchka, and Hardadinsk; and at Miass, Ilmen Mountains,
Southern Ural Mountains.
|
Seraphinite
gems for sale:
We
have not photographed our Seraphinite gems. Please
check back soon.
|
|