Diopside Gemstone & Information | Gemopedia by JTV | Gemopedia™

Diopside

Diopside can be colorless but it most often a bottle green, brownish green or light green. Bright green diopside is commonly known as chrome diopside because of its chromium content. A rare blue variety known as violan may be found in Italy.

Colors

Green, Brown, Black, Blue To Violet, Colorless To White

  • Diopside classification

    CommonName
    Diopside
    Species
    Diopside
    Variety
    Colors
    Green, Brown, Black, Blue To Violet, Colorless To White
    AlternateNames
    Tashmarine(TM),Shanseres(R), Star Diopside, Cat's-Eye Diopside, Malacolite, Alalite, Violane, Chrome Diopside
    GemstoneGroups
    Pyroxene
    KeySeparations
    refractive index, birefringence, optic character and spectrum. Chrome diopside may be separate from ordinary green diopside by their respective spectra; ordinary green does not have lines in the orange and red characteristic of the presence of chromium.
    ClassificationComments
    Star diopside and Cat's-eye diopside are the varieties displaying asterism and chatoyancy.Malacolite are translucent stones that are light in color.Alalite is colorless to faint greenish or light yellowish green variety of diopside.Violane is the translucent to opaque blue-violet aggregate variety.Chrome diopside: transparent medium dark green that is colored by chromium.Tashmarine(TM) yellowish green material.Shanseres (R): pale yellowish green

  • Diopside chemistry & crystallography

    ChemicalName
    calcium magnesium silicate
    ChemicalFormula
    CaMgSi2O6
    Synthesis
    CrystalSystem
    Monoclinic
    ChemistryClassification
    Silicate
    Nature
    Natural
    Crystallinity
    Crystalline
    ChemistryComments

  • Diopside optical properties

    Transparency
    Semitranslucent - Opaque
    Dispersion
    Strength: moderate fire Value: 0.02
    OpticalComments
    RefractiveIndex
    1.675-1.701
    Tolerance:(+0.029/-0.010)
    Birefringence
    0.024-0.03
    OpticCharacter
    Biaxial
    OpticSign
    Positive
    PolariscopeReaction
    Doubly Refractive (DR)
    Fluorescence
    SWUV: strong blue to bluish white
    LWUV: inert to weak blue
    CCFReaction
    Pleochroism
    Dichroic, weak to strong light green and dark green

  • Diopside characteristic physical properties

    Hardness
    5.5-6
    CharacteristicComments
    Streak
    White To White Green
    SpecificGravity
    3.22-3.4 Typical:3.29
    Toughness
    Varies
    Inclusions
    Black needle-like magnetite inclusions that might be magnetic, metallic like inclusions and liquid inclusions.
    Luster
    Vitreous
    Stability
    Fair
    Fracture
    Conchoidal, Uneven
    Cleavage
    Good, in two directions