Veberod Bulletin September 2012 Gem Chrysocolla Chalcedony infused with neon colored copper minerals The date was May 1, 1893. As darkness fell gemstone known as gem silica, or gem chryso- on the World Exposition, President Grover Cleve- colla. land pushed a button providing electricity to one The most prolifi c source for gem chrysocol- hundred thousand incandescent lamps, illuminat- la was Arizona, and the two top producers were ing the entire fairgrounds for the fi rst time. This the Ray mine and the Inspiration mine. Unfortu- “City of Light” was the brainchild of Nikola nately neither mine has produced for over twenty Tesla working for Westinghouse, and it marked years so the majority of gem silica in the market a turning point in the battle between Thomas today is coming from collections. As modern Edison’s direct current and Tesla’s alternating methods of mining become more automated, it is current. From that time on, more than 80 percent increasingly diffi cult to stop operations and ex- of all electrical devices ordered in the United tract gem chrysocolla if it is encountered. There States were for alternating current. are still some pick and shovel mining operations As consumers demanded more and more that produce small quantities of gem chrysocolla, electrical devices made with copper wire, the most notably in Peru. demand for copper ore skyrocketed and the min- The name chrysocolla comes from the ing industry responded. Mines across the country Greek words chrysos meaning gold and kolla that had previously ignored copper in the pursuit meaning glue. The name was fi rst used by of gold and silver, suddenly discovered a new Theophrastus in 315BC as the name of mate- source of revenue. For gem and mineral collec- rial used to solder gold. Ironically, as scientists tors, the result was an increased supply of the continue to study ancient gold artifacts the latest green and blue minerals associated with copper data indicates that the material was probably a ore. Two of the more recognizable minerals are cadmium sulfi de known as greenockite instead of malachite and turquoise, but there are well over chrysocolla! 100 minerals containing copper. Since chrysocolla is almost always found The mineral we are interested in here is with other copper minerals, desirable local mixes chrysocolla, a hydrated copper silicate with are often given specifi c trade names. Perhaps formula (Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4·nH2O. (Try the two most well-known are Parrot Wing jasper, to say that three times fast!) This bluish-green and Eilat stone. Eilat stone is a variegated blue mineral forms as botryoidal or rounded masses and green mixture of chrysocolla, malachite, and crusts, or vein fi llings in copper ore, and it is turquoise and other copper minerals found on usually found mixed with the Gulf of Aqaba, near the northwestern end Gem chrysocolla in malachite, cuprite and azur- of the Red Sea. Parrot Wing jasper is a copper yellow gold with ite. Its neon colors make mineral mix that featured a neon green color South Seas pearls it an extremely attractive with red, brown, darker green, and blue mixed $1250 mineral specimen. Un- in. The original deposit was mined in the 1980s Gem chrysocolla in palladium with dia- fortunately its hardness of near Sinaloa, Mexico, but is no longer available. monds $1900 2.5 to 3.5 makes it too soft Since both of these materials are mixes, copper Chrysocolla/malachite for use in jewelry. For- minerals from all over the globe frequently get and black jade in 18KT tunately, there have been substituted and it is virtually impossible to prove gold and palladium some instances where the or disprove origin. Veberod Gem Gallery pendant $1450 13023 Ridgedale Drive chrysocolla combines with Minnetonka, MN Chrysocolla and ne chalcedony quartz resulting 952-595-8338 silver PMC turtle pen- www.vgems.net dant $990 in a durable and beautiful