Albite
Sri Lanka
1.59 carats
© Giovanni Scapin 2015
The name Albite derives from Latin - albus, because its colour is usually pure white.
| General Information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A variety or type of: | Feldspar | |||||||||||
| Chemical Formula |
| |||||||||||
| Albite Treatments | ||||||||||||
| Irradiation may turn colourless material blue if lead and water impurities are present (see amazonite). | ||||||||||||
| Physical Properties of Albite | ||||||||||||
| Mohs Hardness | 6 to 6.5, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Specific Gravity | 2.60 to 2.65, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Tenacity | Brittle, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Cleavage Quality | Perfect, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) Perfect to excellent | |||||||||||
| Fracture | Uneven,Conchoidal, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Optical Properties of Albite | ||||||||||||
| Refractive Index | 1.525 to 1.542, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Optical Character | Biaxial/+, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) | |||||||||||
| Birefringence | 0.008 to 0.011, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Dispersion | Weak, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Colour | ||||||||||||
| Colour (General) | Colourless, greenish, bluish, black (adularescent), Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Transparency | Transparent,Translucent,Opaque, Gemmological Tables (2004) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Lustre | Vitreous,Pearly, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Fluorescence & other light emissions | ||||||||||||
| Fluorescence (Short Wave UV) | White, green, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Fluorescence (Long-Wave UV) | Green, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Phosphorescence | Golden brown, green, Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Crystallography of Albite | ||||||||||||
| Crystal System | Triclinic, Blue Chart Gem Identification (2010) More from other references | |||||||||||
| Geological Environment | ||||||||||||
| Where found: | Found widely in greenschist facies metamorphic rocks. In igneous rocks, it occurs principally in pegmatites and in alkali-rich rocks such as nepheline syenites and other feldspathoidal types. Common in spilites and keratophyres., Gems, Sixth Edition (2006) | |||||||||||
| Further Information | ||||||||||||
| Mineral information: | Albite information at mindat.org | |||||||||||
| Significant Gem Localities | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||