Diaspore

An aluminum hydroxide; gem crystals from Turkey change color from green-yellow to pinkish with the lighting.

Diaspore specimen — Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify diaspore

Bladed or platy crystals with a perfect cleavage.
Color shifts between daylight and warm light in gems.
Hardness about 7.

Often confused with

Chrysoberyl
Chrysoberyl (alexandrite) is harder and shows a stronger green-to-red change.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Milas, Turkey
Ural Mountains, Russia
Massachusetts

Uses

Gemstones and an aluminum ore component of bauxite.

Rock tumbling

Can be tumbled with care.

Did you know?

Its name, from Greek 'to scatter', comes from the way it crackles apart when heated.

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