Aventurine is used for a number of applications, including landscape stone, building stone, aquaria, monuments, and jewelry.

Aventurine is a form of quartz, characterised by its translucency and the presence of platy mineral inclusions that give a shimmering or glistening effect termed aventurescence. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Quartz (from German Quarz[1]) is the second most common mineral in the Earths continental crust. ... A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure and specific physical properties. ... In mineralogy, an inclusion is any material that is trapped inside a mineral during its formation. ... In gemology, aventurescence (sometimes called aventurization) is an optical reflectance effect seen in certain gems. ...

The most common colour of aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue or gray. Chrome-bearing fuchsite (a variety of muscovite mica) is the classic inclusion, and gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Oranges and browns are attributed to hematite or goethite. Because aventurine is a rock, its physical properties vary: its specific gravity may lie between 2.64-2.69 and its hardness is somewhat lower than single-crystal quartz at around 6.5. Muscovite layer Muscovite, also known as potash mica, is an orthosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium. ... Muscovite layer Muscovite, also known as potash mica, is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2. ... Rock with mica Mica sheet Mica flakes The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. ... Hematite, also spelled haematite, is the mineral form of Iron(III) oxide, (Fe2O3), one of several iron oxides. ... Goethite, named after the German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low temperature environments. ... This balancing rock, Steamboat Rock stands in Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, CO The rocky side of a mountain creek near Orosí, Costa Rica. ... Relative density (also known as specific gravity) is a measure of the density of a material. ... Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer. ... Quartz (from German Quarz[1]) is the second most common mineral in the Earths continental crust. ...

Aventurine feldspar or sunstone can be confused with orange and red aventurine quartzite, although the former is generally of a higher transparency. Aventurine is often banded and an overabundance of fuchsite may render it opaque, in which case it may be mistaken for malachite at first glance. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 122 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 122 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sunstone, a feldspar exhibiting in certain directions a brilliant spangled appearance, which has led to its use as an ornamental stone. ... This article is about the mineral. ...

The name aventurine derives from the Italian "a ventura," meaning "by chance." This is an allusion to the chance discovery of aventurine glass or goldstone at some point in the 18th century. Although it was known first, goldstone is now a common imitation of aventurine and sunstone. Goldstone is distinguished visually from the latter two minerals by its coarse platelets of copper, dispersed within the glass in an unnaturally uniform manner. It is usually a golden brown, but may also be found in blue or green. Goldstone is a type of glass made with copper or copper salts in the presence of a reducing flame. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ...

The majority of green and blue-green aventurine originates in India (particularly in the vicinity of Mysore and Madras) where it is employed by prolific artisans. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in Chile, Spain and Russia. Most material is carved into beads and figurines with only the finer examples fashioned into cabochons, later being set into jewellery. , For other uses, see Mysore (disambiguation). ... , “Madras” redirects here. ... A cabochon or cabouchon is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to facetted. ... Amber jewellery in the form of pendants Jewellery (also spelled jewelry, see spelling differences) is a personal ornament, such as a necklace, ring, or bracelet, made from jewels, precious metals or other substance. ...

Main markets for aventurine are landscape stone, building stone, aquaria, monuments, and jewellery.

See also

• Optical phenomena
• List of minerals

An optical phenomenon is any observable event which results from the interaction of light and matter. ... Gem animals. ...

External Link

• http://www.mindat.org/min-436.html