Axinite-(Mg) / Magnesio Axinite
Rough and Cut Set
D-Block Mine
Merelani Hills, Tanzania
I hate using the term rare, but this rough and cut set is just that.
It is hard enough to find crystals from this 2010 discovery,
but to pair them with like coloring cut stones, well just try to find others!
Here is an amazing set of rough and cut Magnesio Axinite.
This pair contains A single purplish blue crystal, that is 16.13 carats.
The crystal also has hint of orange in it's coloring and a lot of internal rainbow iridescence in the crystal.
The faceted gem of the same coloring, is .76 carats.
Although it shows some visible inclusions, it is very bright and shows all the attributes of the crystal.
Magnesio-Axinite, a rare magnesium-dominant member of the axinite group of minerals.
Axinite has a general formula of H(CaFe2+MnMg)3(Al2BSi4O16).
Gem-quality magnesio-axinite—also known as axinite-(Mg)—is transparent to translucent,
with pale blue to pale violet, light brown to light pink, or yellow to golden yellow or orange color.
More intensely colored bluish violet to purple magnesio-axinite tends to have a higher refractive index (1.659–1.681) than lighter-colored pink, purple, or yellow material (1.652–1.668).
Magnesio-axinite has a birefringence of 0.010–0.016, strong dispersion, and a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7.0.
Stones with a blue color component display pale blue to pale violet and pale gray pleochroic colors.
Fluorescence is one of the material’s most striking properties.
The gem shows a dull red under short-wave ultraviolet light,
and a vibrant red to very bright flaming orange color under differing wavelength of long-wave UV, as seen in the photos and video.
