Gem Love: SCAPOLITE

Yellow Scapolite

Scapolite is a gemstone that is very rare, and not well-known.  It comes in many colors, such as white, pink, grey, greenish, yellow, brown, and violet, and even blue.   The most common color is a bright honey-yellow. 

The name Scapolite comes from the Greek "skapos", meaning "shaft" due to its long, prismatic crystals.

Scapolite Crystal

Scapolite can easily be confused with Amethyst, Citrine, Chrysoberyl, and Golden Beryl.  But those gems are much harder than Scapolite.

Heat Treated Lavender Scapolite

Lavender Scapolite is heat treated, and unstable (the color will fade when exposed to sunlight).

Scapolite is a soft stone, similar to Opal.  It has a Mohs hardness of about 5.5 to 6.  It's most suitable to pendants and earrings.

Very small pockets of Scapolite can be found in the US and around the world.  Gemstone sources are found in Minas Gerias, Brazil; Madagascar, Tanzania, Canada, Switzerland and Burma.  It can also be found in Mt. Vesuvius, Italy and in Norway and Mexico.

Luster is vitreous on freshly exposed crystals or surfaces but weathering causes a dulling of the luster, due to the softness of the stone.  Scapolite will often fluoresce either orange, yellow or more rarely red under ultraviolet light---quartz and beryl minerals will not. Associated minerals include the garnet minerals almandine and andradite, actinolite, microcline, pyroxenes, apatite, andalusite, zircon, sphene, diopside and muscovite.

Cat's Eye Scapolite

Gemstone-quality scapolite usually exhibits excellent transparency. Some of the less transparent material will exhibit chatoyancy or the cat's eye effect when cut as cabochons. Cat's eye stones are rather rare and desirable as they tend to have exceptionally sharp eyes.

Wernerite, 'Pink Moonstone', Lavender Cat's Eye Scapolite, Violet Cat's Eye Scapolite, Pink Cat's Eye Scapolite, Mizzonite, Dipyre, Marialite and Meionite are lesser known gemstone trade names and mineral associations.