Dioptase
Emerald-green copper silicate that fooled Kazakh merchants and Russian tsars.
- Family
- Dioptase
- Formula
- CuSiO₃·H₂O
- Mohs
- 5
- System
- Trigonal
Drag to turn
Science
Dioptase forms in the oxidised zone of copper deposits as short, brilliant green prisms. Its cleavage is so distinct that Haüy named it in 1797 from dia and optos, 'seeing through', because the cleavage planes are visible inside. Too soft and fragile for rings, it is prized as a specimen.
- Mineral
- Dioptase
- Formula
- CuSiO₃·H₂O
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Mohs hardness
- 5
- Specific gravity
- 3.28 to 3.35
- Refractive index
- 1.644 to 1.709
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Emerald green, Blue-green
Composition
CuSiO₃·H₂O. Made of Copper, Silicon, Oxygen, Hydrogen.
Origin
- NamibiaTsumeb
- KazakhstanAltyn-Tyube, first find
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Chile
- United StatesArizona
- Peru
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Crystals are small and brittle; specimens from Tsumeb and Altyn-Tyube are collector pieces and it is rarely cut.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Dioptase sits at 5 on the Mohs scale. Glass and a knife blade are about as hard; it wears well with care.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Heart
Element
- Water
Zodiac
- Sagittarius
- Scorpio
Planets
- Venus
Properties
- Heart healing
- Forgiveness
- Abundance
- Living in the present
Lore
In the 1780s merchants brought it from Kazakhstan to Russia as emerald; Catherine the Great's court was briefly excited until analysis found copper. The locality, Altyn-Tyube, means golden hill.
Modern practice treats it as the most direct heart stone in the copper group.
- Named1797 by René Just Haüy, founder of crystallography.
- FragilePerfect cleavage; never ultrasonic-clean it.