apatite | Indonesia Jewelry Wholesale

Cat's Eye Apatite

Cat’s Eye Apatite

Apatite is one of a few minerals that are produced and used by biological micro-environmental systems.

The word Apatite is derived from the Greek word “apate’, meaning to deceive. This was primarily due to the fact that Apatite was often mistaken for rarer, more valuable gemstones such as Beryl, Olivine and Peridot. Apatite falls into two categories, Chlor-Apetite (Chloro-Calcium), and Flour-Apetite (Flouro—Calcium). The name Cat’s eye is derived from the phenomena displayed by this stone known as chatoyancy.

The range of colors on Cat’s eye apatite includes colorless, pink, yellow, green, blue and violet. A rare variety is a rich purple from Maine. Blue Brazilian stones are second in demand. A light green variety of apatite carries the trade name “asparagus stone”. The recent availability of the neon blue-green variety from Madagascar has increased the use of apatite in jewelry.

Chatoyancy, the cat’s eye effect, is a reflection of light by parallel fibers, needles, or channels, which resembles the slit eye of a cat. When the stone is rotated, the cat’s eye glides over the surface.

Cat’s eye apatite is a rarity at apatite mines. Apatites are found in Brazil, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Norway, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the United States, and it is generally untreated.

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Apatite Gemstone

Apatite

Apatite is a naturally occurring gemstone. It is basically known for its asparagus green color but it is found in wide range of colors, from colorless to pink, yellow, blue to violet. The best apatite is neon greenish blue with a clean clarity. The cost of the stone increases with the intensity of the color.

Apatite is a member of the Apatite group, a group of isomorphous hexagonal minerals. Apatite may be regarded as a single mineral, but is usually divided into three more minerals: Fluorapatite, Chlorapatite, and Hydroxylapatite. Since it is hard to distinguish between these minerals, and since they may partially replace each other, a distinction between them is rarely made, and they are simply called “Apatite”. However, most Apatite is Fluorapatite, the most common member by far.

The name, ‘apatite’ has been taken from a Greek word ‘apate,’ which mean to deceive. It is so named because one can be easily get confused with variety of other stones like tourmaline, peridot and beryl.

Apatite is found in all igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It can also be cut as gems but the softness of apatite prevents its acceptance as a gemstone.

Apatite is a common mineral, and fine localities are worldwide. Enormous deposits are in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, containing both crystals and botryoidal material. Some of the finest crystals came from Ehrenfriedersdorf, Saxony Germany, where they are blue to purple in color. Colorless, hexagonal crystals were found in the Tyrol, Austria, and excellent material from Panasqueira, Portugal. Deep blue crystals are found in Campo Formosa, Bahia, Brazil, and in Sri Lanka. Enormous deposits mined for industrial use exist in Nauru, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Israel.