Aventurine

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Aventurine

Aventurine is a form of quartz

Quartz

Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
inclusion

Inclusion (mineral)

In mineralogy, an inclusion is any material that is trapped inside a mineral during its formation.In gemmology is a characteristic enclosed within a gemstone, or reaching its surface from the interior....
s that give a shimmering or glistening effect termed aventurescence
Aventurescence

In gemology, aventurescence is an optics reflectance effect seen in certain gemstone. The effect amounts to a metallic glitter, arising from minute, preferentially oriented mineral platelets within the material....
.

The most common colour of aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue, or gray.

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Encyclopedia

Aventurine is a form of quartz

Quartz

Mineral

Inclusion (mineral)

Muscovite

Muscovite is a Silicate minerals mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula potassiumaluminum22, or 236....
mica

Mica

The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic with a tendency towards pseudo-hexagonal crystals and are similar in chemical composition....
) is the classic inclusion, and gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Oranges and browns are attributed to hematite

Hematite

Hematite, Spelling differences#Simplification of ae .28.C3.A6.29 and oe .28.C5.93.29 h?matite, is the mineral form of Iron oxide , one of several iron oxides....
or goethite

Goethite

Goethite, named after the Germany polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments....
. Because aventurine is a rock

Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
, its physical properties vary: its specific gravity

Specific gravity

Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure, typically at 4?C and , making it a dimensionless quantity ....
may lie between 2.64-2.69 and its hardness is somewhat lower than single-crystal quartz

Quartz

Quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust . It is made up of a Crystal structure of silica tetrahedra. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale and a density of 2.65 g/cm?....
at around 6.5.

Aventurine feldspar or sunstone
Sunstone

Sunstone is a plagioclase feldspar exhibiting in certain directions a aventurescence, which has led to its use as a gemstone.The effect appears to be due to reflections from enclosures of red haematite, in the form of minute scales, which are hexagonal, rhombus or irregular in shape, and are disposed parallel to the principal Cleavage ....
can be confused with orange and red aventurine quartzite, although the former is generally of a higher transparency. Aventurine is often banded and an overabundance of fuchsite may render it opaque, in which case it may be mistaken for malachite

Malachite

Malachite is a Carbonate minerals normally known as "copper carbonate" with the chemical formula coppercarbonate.copperhydroxide2. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmite masses....
at first glance.

The name aventurine derives from the Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
"a ventura" meaning "by chance". This is an allusion to the lucky discovery of aventurine glass or goldstone
Goldstone (gemstone)

Goldstone is a type of glittering glass made in the presence of a reducing flame. The finished product can take a smooth Polishing and be carved into beads, figurines, or other artifacts suitable for semiprecious stone, and in fact goldstone is often mistaken or misrepresented as a natural material....
at some point in the 18th century. Although it was known first, goldstone is now a common imitation of aventurine and sunstone. Goldstone is distinguished visually from the latter two minerals by its coarse flecks of copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
, dispersed within the glass in an unnaturally uniform manner. It is usually a golden brown, but may also be found in blue or green.

The majority of green and blue-green aventurine originates in India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
(particularly in the vicinity of Mysore

Mysore

Mysore ; renamed to Mysuru|??????) is the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division and lies about southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka....
and Madras

Chennai

Chennai , formerly Indian renaming controversy , is the fourth largest metropolitan area of India and the capital city of the Indian states and territories of India of Tamil Nadu....
) where it is employed by prolific artisans. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in Chile

Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
, Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
and Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
. Most material is carved into beads and figurines with only the finer examples fashioned into cabochon

Cabochon

A cabochon or cabachon, from the Middle French caboche , is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to facetted. The resulting form is usually a convex top with a flat bottom....
s, later being set into jewellery

Jewellery

Jewellery is an item of personal adornment, such as a necklace, ring , brooch or bracelet, that is worn by a person. It may be made from gemstones or precious metals, but may be from any other material, and may be appreciated because of geometric or other patterns, or meaningful symbols....
.

Main markets for aventurine are landscape stone, building stone, aquaria, monuments, and jewellery.

Aventurine

See also

External links