Better Gutenberg
Free, beautifully formatted public-domain ebooks

A Hand-book of Precious Stones

by Meyer D. Rothschild

53 of 78 · Contents · Download EPUB

Hypersthene

Handsome specimens of hypersthene or Labrador hornblende are used for ornamental purposes.

This mineral is found in crystalline masses, has the hardness of 6, specific gravity 3.3 to 3.4, lustre pearly to metallic. It is translucent to opaque, brittle, and fuses before the blow-pipe. It consists of:

Silica54.2
Magnesia24.1
Protoxide of iron21.7

Hypersthene occurs in dark-brown, green, grayish-black, greenish-black, and jet-black colors, and is found in the isle of Skye, the Hartz Mountains, Saxony, Labrador, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Bohemia, Thuringia, and the United States.

← Back to A Hand-book of Precious Stones

Scroll to Top