Creedite Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Creedite is a fluoride mineral found in white/colorless, orange, rose, or purple coloring. The stone is better known as a collector’s mineral than a jewelry gemstone.

Is creedite rare? Yes, creedite is a rare mineral and even rarer gemstone, since cuttable material is scarce. In fact, it’s estimated that fewer than 12 creedite gems have been faceted.

Despite its rarity, creedite makes a beautiful display piece and powerful healing stone for various maladies.

What is the meaning of the gemstone creedite? That’s what we’ll be answering today!

In this guide, we’ll go over all of creedite’s properties as a mineral and gemstone, along with creedite uses, prices, history, and more.

Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

About Creedite Stone

Creedite is a semi-precious gemstone, though it’s rarely cut as a gemstone. The mineral also goes by the moniker belyankite (not to be confused with belyankinite).

What is creedite used for celebrating?

Though not a traditional birthstone, orange creedite is believed to benefit those born between August 22 and September 22 (Virgo) and purple creedite is said to benefit those born from December 21 to January 19 (Capricorn).

Creedite Specifications & Characteristics

Creedite has a fairly complex formula that can be written as Ca­3AI2(SO4)(F,OH)10 · 2H2O or Ca3SO4Al2F8(OH)2 · 2H2O. The official formula given by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) is Ca3Al2(SO4)(OH)2F8 · 2H2O.

The creedite mineral can be classified as a complex aluminum salt, hydroxylhalide, and calcium aluminum sulfate fluoro-hydroxide mineral. Talk about a mouthful!

In terms of crystal habits, creedite usually occurs as radial aggregates of needle-like crystal sprays. Other creedite aggregates are granular.

The stone can also occur in druzy or as anhedral to subhedral crystals in a matrix — anhedral meaning no discernible crystal faces and subhedral meaning only partial or incomplete crystal faces. Less often, it forms blade-like, short prismatic crystals.

Here are creedite’s properties listed:

Mohs hardness: 3.5-4

Color: Colorless, white, rose, lilac, purple, violet, orange

Crystal structure: Monoclinic

Luster: Vitreous (glassy)

Transparency: Transparent to opaque

Refractive index: 1.461-1.485

Density: 2.71-2.73

Cleavage: Perfect on {100}

Fracture: Conchoidal

Streak: White

Luminescence: Fluorescence present; Medium white to cream in SW-UV, bright white to cream in LW-UV

Pleochroism: None

Birefringence: 0.024

Dispersion: Moderate to strong

Moving on from mineralogy, what is the spiritual meaning of creedite?

Image credit: Didier Desouens | CC-BY-SA-3.0

Creedite Meaning & History

Creedite is said to be a very spiritual stone, symbolizing light and universal wisdom. Purple and orange creedite crystals possess fire energy, which emulates warmth, charisma, and passion.

Spiritual practitioners often use creedite for facilitating meditation or out-of-body experiences, along with channeling spirits to interpret the meaning of messages like those in tarot readings.

The crystal is associated with two goddesses: Gaia and Sophia.

Gaia or (Gaea) is the Greek goddess of Earth, considered the first deity in Greek mythology and the mother of all life. Her role of bringing calm to a chaotic world is symbolic of Mother Nature’s power.

Sophia is a goddess of wisdom and a personification of contradiction. She appears in various philosophies and religions like Platonism and Christianity, as well as Dianic Wicca. She is more of a personification of ideas than a goddess. Sophia may represent divine wisdom, contradiction, finding yourself, or feminist spirituality.

History

Creedite was first discovered in Colorado, USA, in 1916. The specific location was the Colorado Fluorspar Co. Mine in Creede Quadrangle, hence the mineral’s name.

American geologists Esper Signius (E.S.) Larsen, Jr. and Roger C. Wells published the discovery in the 1916 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Larsen pioneered age estimation and optical microscopy techniques. The mineral esperite is named after him.

Other sources in the US appeared later in Nevada, Arizona, and California.

The first non-American source of creedite was Bolivia in 1983. Italy became the first European source in 1988.

Also in the 1980s, creedite popped up in Chihuahua, Mexico, and some of the best, cuttable crystals have come from this source.

Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Creedite Healing Properties

Creedite can be a powerful healing stone. Purple creedite, like other purple gemstones, can offer spiritual wisdom and relief from insomnia. Orange creedite joins other orange gems in bringing creativity and charisma. Colorless creedites can bring the cleansing and purifying properties of colorless gems.

What is creedite good for physically?

Physical Healing

Physically, creedite crystals are said to treat problems relating to:

• Immune system function

• Vitamin absorption

• Bone fractures

• Torn muscles

• Irregular heartbeat

• Nerve damage

Emotional Healing

Emotionally, creedite benefits are said to include:

• Facilitating understanding and accepting of life lessons

• Balancing emotions

• Soothing feelings of depression or lack of purpose

• Promoting sense of responsibility and self-discipline

• Encouraging you to leave toxic relationships/friendships

Chakra Healing

Chakra healing involves opening or balancing energy centers (chakras) in your body to resolve the negative symptoms associated with energy blockage.

Creedite is a chakra stone for opening and balancing all the chakras, but it’s particularly effective on the upper energy centers: the throat, third eye, and crown chakras.

These chakras are focused on spirituality, like gaining spiritual insight (third eye) and reaching spiritual enlightenment (crown). Using creedite to open these chakras can expand your awareness, facilitate communication with higher beings, and encourage spiritual ascension.

Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Creedite Gemstone Properties

Besides rarity, other factors for creedite’s value include color, cut, clarity, transparency, and carat weight. The gem isn’t known to receive treatments or be available in synthetic forms.

Color

Creedite can be colorless, white, rose, lilac, purple, or orange. Purple and bright orange hues are generally more valuable. The very few creedites that have been faceted are purple or orange.

Cut

A combination of creedite’s hardness being low on the Mohs scale, its cleavage being perfect, and the mineral rarely forming facetable crystals means creedites are almost never faceted. Only a few faceted gems are known.

Cuttable crystals are also quite rare, so most creedite material is sold uncut as rough specimens.

Clarity & Transparency

Clarity describes the degree of visible inclusions in a gem, which also affects its transparency. Common inclusions in creedite include fluorite and limonite. Creedite can be transparent to opaque.

Material with greater transparency and fewer visible inclusions is more valuable, like the transparent, facetable material from Chihuahua, Mexico.

Carat Weight & Size

The few faceted creedites out there are quite small, under 1-2 carats.

Single, prismatic creedite crystals can grow up to 1 inch long, and those in aggregates can be up to 8 cm. However, creedite is usually found in radial aggregates measuring 2-3 mm.

Pictured above: Clear and rust-colored creedite crystals on fluorite matrix | Image credit: Orbital Joe, Flickr, CC-BY-SA-2.0

Creedite Formation & Sources

Typically, creedite forms when fluorite deposits undergo intense oxidation. As such, it’s usually found in fluorite-rich hydrothermal deposits, often near low-grade metamorphic rocks on a calcite-fluorite-quartz matrix or sulfide-matrix.

It can also occur in skarns, which are lime-bearing metamorphic rocks formed when limestone or dolomite undergoes alteration via metasomatism.

Typical association minerals (besides fluorite and quartz) are kaolinite, spangolite, woodwardite, carbonates, and cyanotrichite. Less often, it’s associated with limonite, kaolinite, hemimorphite, smithsonite, hydrozincite, and aurichalcite.

Mining Locations

Where is creedite found? The top sources for gem-quality material are in Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico. The Hall Molybdenum Mine in Nevada, USA, also produces fine specimens.

Other significant sources of creedite specimens include:

• Bolivia

• China (colorless)

• Kazakhstan (purple)

• USA (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico)

Now, how much does creedite cost?

Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Creedite Price & Value

Before we discuss pricing, it’s important to note that cut creedite gemstones are difficult to find. Most are in mineral collections. It’s easier to find rough, uncut creedite crystal aggregates.

The few faceted creedites are at least around $200 per carat (though the item price may be lower, since they’re generally under 1 carat).

Radial creedite crystal aggregates will cost you anywhere from $15 to $875, depending on the size and quality.

The most expensive specimens are those with bright orange crystals on a valuable gemstone matrix like blue topaz ($4,000), small purple creedite balls on a fluorite matrix ($800 to $2,200), or well-formed orange creedite crystals on fluorite ($2,200).

Creedite Care and Maintenance

In terms of safety, there’s no creedite toxicity to worry about. However, the stone requires gentle gemstone care.

Unfortunately, creedite isn’t durable enough for jewelry. It’s only advisable to use creedite for display purposes.

Creedite has perfect cleavage, low hardness, and solubility in acids. Therefore, you should handle it gently, keep it away from acids, and store it separately from other gems (to avoid scratches).

Clean creedite with distilled water, mild soap, and a soft toothbrush. Dry it with a lint-free, microfiber cloth — dust often contains quartz particles, which could scratch the stone.

Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Captivated by Creedite’s Charm?

You may not have heard of creedite before now, but this underrated gem is a rare treasure. The gorgeous array of white or orange or purple crystal clusters are perfect for bringing some captivating charm into your home.

Buy creedite gemstones today!