Taaffeite (Magnesiotaaffeite)
Musgravite
Tunduru, Tunduru District, Ruvuma Region, Tanzania
0.44 carats
© Mineral Classics
Taaffeite forms mauve or lilac, red to brown, bluish, green transparent to translucent crystals.
A. Thomas reports that "Taaffeite is a very rare gem mineral that was first discovered as a cut stone". A light mauve stone was originally believed to be spinel. The source of the material was unknown for a long time, until eventually small fragents were found in Sri Lanka.
A purplish brown chatoyant taaffeite has been found recently in Sri Lanka.
Taaffeite Gemstones by Colour
This table shows the variety of hues this gemstone can be found in. Click on a photo for more information.
|  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |
Taaffeite Gemstones by Size
This table shows distribution of Taaffeite gemstone sizes that are listed on this site. This can give a good indication as to the general availability of this gemstone in different sizes.
Contributed photos
Lightest:0.44 cts
Heaviest:8.50 cts
Average:2.28 cts
Total photos:17
Do you have a larger Taaffeite? Why not upload a photo?
| General Information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varieties/Types: | Musgravite - A trigonal mineral very closely related to taaffeite. | |||||||||||||
| Other Names/Trade Names: | ||||||||||||||
| Chemical Formula |
| |||||||||||||
| Physical Properties of Taaffeite | ||||||||||||||
| Mohs Hardness | 8 to 8.5, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Specific Gravity | 3.60 to 3.62, Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Fracture | Conchoidal, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Optical Properties of Taaffeite | ||||||||||||||
| Refractive Index | 1.716 to 1.730, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Optical Character | Uniaxial/-, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Birefringence | 0.004, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Pleochroism | Weak, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Dispersion | 0.020, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Colour | ||||||||||||||
| Colour (General) | Violet, colourless, pale green, bluish, pink, red., Gemstones of the world (2001) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Causes of Colour | Red to violet, Cr3+ in octahedral coordination, Pragmatic Spectroscopy For Gemologists (2011) | |||||||||||||
| Transparency | Transparent, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Lustre | Vitreous, Gemstones of the world (2001) | |||||||||||||
| Crystallography of Taaffeite | ||||||||||||||
| Crystal System | Hexagonal, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||||
| Habit | Prismatic, Gemstones (2009) | |||||||||||||
| Geological Environment | ||||||||||||||
| Where found: | Occurs in gem gravels or in skarns at the contact between dolostones and limestones with beryllium-bearing granite., Gems, Sixth edition (2006) | |||||||||||||
| Inclusions in Taaffeite | ||||||||||||||
| Healing cracks, crystal inclusions - Gemmological Tables, Ulrich Henn and Claudio C. Milisenda, 2004, p 22 | ||||||||||||||
| Further Information | ||||||||||||||
| Mineral information: | Taaffeite information at mindat.org | |||||||||||||
| Significant Gem Localities | ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||