Diaspore, sometimes marketed under the name Zultanite, is a color change gem from Turkey recently introduced to the international market. Diaspore is a hydrated aluminum oxide colored by manganese. It was first faceted as a gemstone in the 1980's, but has never been mined commercially until recently. With reasonably good hardness (6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale) and good brilliance, diaspore has been attracting considerable attention in the gem world.
Under natural or fluorescent light, diapsore has a kiwi green color, with flashes of yellow. Diaspore displays a champagne color under incandescent lighting, and when exposed to subdued lighting, such as candlelight, it has a pinkish color. The larger the stone, the more pronounced the color change effect will be.
