We’re going to talk today about a famous green mineral called Epidote and its friend Prehnite. Epidote is a well known rock forming mineral but only a few hardcore mineral collectors know its bestfriend, Prehnite. This combination of minerals provides an unusual presentation of green that has turned Prehnite into a new gemstone over the past 20 years.
The Green Monster. That's what our friends have been calling the chunks of Prehnite and Epidote that we’ve been recently showing on our page. A mineral combination that goes together like peanut butter and jelly makes one heck of a mineral, if you ask me. But why? In this blog we will be discussing both Prehnite and Epidote and why you need this amazing combination in your collection! In case you are wondering what exactly Prehnite and Epidote are, here is a brief description. Both minerals are from the same family of actinolite-tremolite series, phyllosilicate group with calcium, magnesium chromium or iron substitution in the aluminum. There is a continuous gradation between these two minerals which makes it hard to distinguish between them. They are common in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.
Were you aware that there are two types of Prehnite? One is green and the other white. White Prehnite and Green Prehnite. You see they're actually two different sub-varieties of this same mineral, though prehnite can technically be white as well.
Epidote mineral ranges in color, but most commonly it is dark green (from iron) or nearly black with darker colored bands and speckles ranging toward brown. Epidote may be green, but that doesn't mean it is always easy to spot. In fact, an Epidote can be brown, yellowish, pink or another color. The same goes for Prehnite — it can be tan, brown, and green. This may play a security role in the way Epidote and Prehnite act as stones that “hide in plain sight.”
Epidote can comes from sedimentary rocks that were formed from sediments deposited during Paleozoic time periods from approximately 450 million to 410 million years ago. These rocks are very large and are collectively known as the Appalachian Orogeny mountains in North America and the Atlas mountains of Morocco; South Africa; Brazil; and Western Australia. Prehnite and Epidote are naturally occurring minerals commonly found in granite, limestone, and gneiss. These two types of minerals are always found together. Epidotes get their name from being “more precious” than prehnite. They were once thought to be even more valuable than diamond by early Native Americans, who wore jewelry made out of the duo. Today, the duo is used as an ornamentation in many jewelry pieces. They also have other practical uses that date back thousands of years ago.
It is one of the most popular forms of chalcedony produced on Earth, generally coming in vivid shades of green and reminds some people of jadeite. It was given its name by A.E. Seaman and William G. Peck, two geologists who discovered it in Maine in 1839, after Wilhelm Prehnite von Bergweiler (1788-1860), German chemist, who first described epidote minerals and their chemical composition.
It's a rare crystal that occurs in many different places. The origins of Epidote and its name tell you about the type of person to wear it, or the kind of jewelry they'd like. Ancient people knew how to use this stone better than we do now, and Prehnite was known as a fragile rock, so you probably shouldn't wear it around your neck or carry it in your backpack.
Prehnite and epidote are lovely green minerals that can be found in the same locations. There are differences in occurrence, crystal structure, and general properties between the two, but they both have a lot to offer as gemstones. Today we've discussed these differences in great detail, and hopefully now that you are at the end of the article, you have a better idea about what you should be looking for when adding to your crystal collection.
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