Benitoite

Benitoite is a very very rare gemstone which is found only in San Benito County near San Benito River, in California . It gets its name from the same place. The rarity of Benitoite gives it enough reasons to compete with Diamonds.

Benitoite
Benitoite is the quintessential American gemstone. Gem quality specimens are mined nowhere in the world except in San Benito County, California.

Benitoite - The Rare Sapphire Blue Gem From California
BENITOITE - A Very Rare Gem ...

Benitoite
Chemical composition -- Barium titanium silicate.
Color -- blue or purplish blue.

BENITOITE
Overview: Benitoite is a rare blue stone named after where it was found, the San Benito River. Benitoite is a rare gem that was first discovered in 1906 along the headwaters of the San Benito River in San Benito County, California.

Benitoite
One of the most beautiful blue gemstones is native to our own country. In 1906, a prospector found what he thought were sapphire crystals in the Diablo Mountain range of San Benito County, California. A year later, mineralogist, G. D.

Enhancements
Benitoite is not known to be enhanced.
More information on gemstone enhancements.
Benitoite ...

BENITOITE
Benitoite is a rare, blue gemstone that is found mostly in the San Benito River in San Benito County, near Coalinga, California (lesser quality benitoite is found in Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada). Benito means "blessed" in Spanish.

Benitoite
Very rare collector stone of nice blue color.
Hardness : 5.5 Refractive Index : 1.78 Density : 3.67 ...

Benitoite
Beryl
Aquamarine, Beryl, Bixbite, Emerald, Goshenite, Heliodore, Morganite ...

Benitoite - BaTi(Si3O9)
4-member ring
Axinite - (Ca,Fe,Mn)3Al2(BO3)(Si4O12)(OH) ...

Benitoite discovered in California, declared official state stone in 1985
Blue Verneuil sapphire becomes available ...

Benitoite
Crystallography: Hexagonal
Colors: sapphire blue to colorless
Hardness: 6.5
Specific gravity: 3.67
Refractive index: 1.78 + - .047
Comments: Rare stone from San Benito Co. Cal. strong DR and high dispersion Bertrandite ...

Nationalistic sentiment may cause a rare precious stone to be abnormally popular in the land of its origin; the outstanding case was that of alexandrite in Czarist Russia; in America also the local gems, benitoite, kunzite, ...

Benitoite, the State gemstone, is the collector/specialty stone for which the State is best known. San Benito County is the only source of this fine, blue colored gem.

In that case we add one half to the number of the softer mineral; thus, peridot, benitoite, and jade (nephrite) are all softer than quartz (7) but harder than felspar (6); hence we say they are 6 1/2 in hardness.

Three possible ring configurations exist; these are the Si3O9 ring, observed only in the rare titanosilicate benitoite (BaTiSi3O9); the Si4O12 ring; and the Si6O18 ring, which is found in beryl and tourmaline.

Sapphires can be confused with benitoite, indicolite, iolite, spinel, tanzanite, topaz, zircon and even blue glass.

Trinity Mineral Company - site of First mineral auction and home of a great (the greatest) benitoite fan. John Veevaert.

A few are always fluorescent - and occasionally with a characteristic colour. Scheelite, is the prime example, responding always in short wave, ultra violet light
with a blue colour. Benitoite is a similar example.

This class is a 12-faced form with six faces above and 6 faces below the mirror plane that lies in the a1-a2-a3 axial plane. Figure 6.11a is the ditrigonal dipyramid form and figure 6.11b displays a drawing of benitoite, ...

The most valuable sapphires are well cut, intense but even color blue stones. A blue sapphire can often be confused with stones similar in color suchas benitoite, iolite, kyanite, spinel, tanzanite, tourmaline, ...

See also: Stone, Crystal, Color, Gemstone, Gem