DIASPORE MINERAL

RARE MINERAL

APPROX WEIGHT AND SIZE

CLEAN STONES ARE SOLD AT ENORMOUS PRICES

the mineral diaspore, mined in the İlbir Mountains of southwest Turkey at an elevation of over 4,000 feet. Depending on its light source, color varies between a yellowish green, light gold, and purplish pink. Its gemological name is diaspore, and it is hydrated aluminum oxide colored by manganese. It was first faceted as a gemstone in the 1980s, but was not commercialy mined until recently.Diaspore has reasonably good gemstone characteristics. It has a hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, comparable to peridot and tanzanite. It has a refractive index of 1.702 to 1.750, which lies between that of tanzanite and spinel. Diaspore has perfect cleavage in one direction, making it a challenge to cut