Detailed information
Dimensions
38 x 38 x 22
mm
Weight
41 g
Locality
Linópolis Divino das Laranjeiras, Doce valley Minas Gerais, Brazil
Condition
No recorded repairs
Often grouped under gem species, Brazilianite - a sodium aluminium phosphate - is a little softer than most gemstones, at 5.5 on the Mohs scale. Named in 1945, after the country where it was discovered, it remains a very rare species, with nearly all significant crystals having come from phosphate-rich pegmatites in Brazil. This off-matrix individual crystal from Linópolis - the town near to the Type Locality - is impacted on two corners, but is fairly large, has a rich greenish-yellow colour, and presents several crystal faces on its front-facing side. Ex David Hardman Collection, crystals of Brazilianite are now becoming hard to find.