Sphalerite has a hardness of just 3.5 to 4 on the Mohs scale and is not suitable for most jewelry use, specimens with excellent clarity are sometimes cut into gemstones for collectors. Why? Sphalerite has a dispersion that exceeds that of all of the popular gems and is three times higher than the dispersion of diamond. 

Dispersion is the ability of a material to separate white light into the colors of the spectrum as it passes through the material. Diamond is well known for its exceptional "fire" - flashes of color as the gem is moved under a source of light. These are caused by its high dispersion of 0.044. Common natural gems that have a dispersion higher than diamond are sphene at 0.051 and demantoid garnet at 0.057. Sphalerite has an incredible dispersion of 0.156.

The amazing things that this Gemstone is capable of have only just begun. It has MULTIPLE LUMINESCENCE PROPERTIES.

FLUORESCENCE

Basically it stays fluorescent as long as the light source is there.

PHOSPHORESCENCE

In a nutshell, it will hold onto the fluorescent light for a while after the light source has been taken away.

THERMOLUMINESCENCE

The Gem has the ability to emit a small amount of light when heated at 50 to 200 degrees celsius.

TRIBOLUMINESCENCE

The Gem emits light when struck, crushed, scratched or broken. Amount of light is small so the dark is needed.

ALL OF THESE AMAZING ATTRIBUTES FROM ONE TINY LITTLE GEMSTONE!!!!

  PICTURE IS ENLARGED 

 Gem type:SPHALERITE

  

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