| Diopside is a newcomer in the jewelry arena, being increasingly praised for its intense green color. It is a relatively soft stone that doesn't qualify for rings or bracelets, because it scratches too easily. Star diopside and diopside cat's eye are a known rarity. Diopside colors Buying Diopside Where is Diopside found? Common Diopside treatments World-famous Diopside Diopside gemology Diopside legends & lore Diopside colors A beautiful deep green is the most often seen faceted version of this gemstone. Chrome diopside, a diopside variety, impresses with a saturated emerald green. Another variety is called violane, a rough, violet-blue diopside. Diopside also comes rarely as a classic four-rayed black diopside star that is very much like a black star sapphire, except that the star sapphire carries six rays. Buying Diopside Diopside needs special precautions to avoid scratching it with harder substances, since it is a "soft" gem. It's advisable to wrap it before storage in a soft cloth to prevent the stones from rubbing against each other.
Color With increasing size of the stone the color of the diopside green appears darker and can turn into almost black. The best choice would be a medium sized stone in vivid green color. Chrome diopside has a beautiful rich green color.
Lighting Clarity Look for flawless, eye clean gems. There is also a green "cat's eye" variety that contains minute inclusions, probably of rutile that reflect light in such a way as to produce a lively linear luminescence within the crystal. The star diopside variety is quite dark, with included rutile needles aligned so as to produce a four-rayed star.
Cut Diopside comes in many shapes and forms, like facetted, emerald, oval or cabochon cut. Diopside location and deposits Deposits are found in Austria, Finland, India, Madagascar, Myanmar, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United States. Violane is only found in Piedmont, Italy. Common Diopside treatments None World-famous Diopside As a lesser-known gemstone, diopside hasn't gained fame as of yet. Diopside gemology Species: Diopside Color: Green, yellow, colorless, brown, black Chemical composition: CaMgSi2O6, calcium magnesium silicate Crystal system: Monoclinic; columnar crystals Hardness: 5-6 (Mohs scale) Specific gravity: 3.22 - 3.38 Refractive index: 1.664 - 1.730 Birefringence: +0.024 to +0.031 Color of streak: White Absorption spectrum: 505, 493, 446; Chrome diopside: 690, 670, 655, 635, 508, 505, 490 Fluorescence: Violet, orange, yellow, green The Diopside zodiac, myth & legend In ancient times, some people believed green diopside had fallen from the tree of life and therefore the dead should be buried with a diopside to ensure renewal of life. In some cultures green diopside was associated with peace and tranquility and put on the forehead before rest, in order to ensure sweet dreams. |