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Sphene, also known as titanite, is a calcium titanium silicate mineral prized for its exceptional "fire" and brilliance, exceeding even that of diamonds. It's known for its wedge-shaped crystals and a range of colors including yellow, green, orange, brown, pink, red, black, and colorless.

Here's a more detailed description:

Composition and Structure:

Chemical Formula: CaTiSiO5 (calcium titanium nesosilicate).

Crystal System: Monoclinic.

Shape: Typically occurs as flattened wedge-shaped crystals or massive forms.

Properties:

Color: Varies widely, including yellow, green, orange, brown, pink, red, black, and colorless. Iron content can influence color.

Hardness: Mohs hardness of 5 to 5.5, making it relatively soft compared to other gemstones like zircon.

Dispersion: One of the highest dispersions of any mineral, meaning it breaks white light into spectral colors, resulting in strong "fire".

Transparency: Can range from transparent to translucent, with jewelry-grade crystals being transparent.

Other: Sphene can exhibit pleochroism (different colors when viewed from different angles) and in rare cases, even color change.

Luster: Resinous to sub-adamantine.

Cleavage: Fair to good on one direction (110).