Actinolite
Amphibole
Actinolite is often found as needle like inclusions within other stones. It often occurs as green blades in quartz from Brazil. Byssolite, the fibrous variety of actinolite, is one of the two minerals responsible for horsetail inclusions in demantoid garnet. Popular with collectors, this generally transparent to translucent stone is often seen as individual crystals or compact fibrous masses. Actinolite gets its name from the Greek word aktinos which means “ray” or “beam.” It's also sometimes called ray stone. Actinolite is generally transparent or translucent green, green-black, or gray green in color. Actinolite is a 5.5 - 6 on the Mohs scale of hardness. It cleaves easily and is difficult to facet.
General Information
Tolerance:(+0.014/-0.014)
LWUV: Inert
Actinolite Colors
-
Black -
Brown -
Gray -
Green -
White
Alternate Names
Smaragdite
Countries of Origin
Papua New Guinea; Sudan; Kazakhstan; Portugal; Solomon Islands; Greece; Mongolia; Morocco; Unknown; Mali; Guatemala; Guyana; Iraq; Chile; Nepal; Argentina; Ukraine; Zambia; India; Canada; Turkey; Belgium; Namibia; Finland; South Africa; Georgia; Jamaica; Peru; Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of); Germany; Yemen; Tanzania, United Republic Of; Eritrea; Fiji; Hong Kong; Chad; Madagascar; Thailand; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Costa Rica; Sweden; Poland; Bulgaria; Croatia; Syrian Arab Republic; Sri Lanka; Kenya; Switzerland; Spain; Azerbaijan; Cuba; Liberia; Burkina Faso; Mauritania; Guernsey; Congo (the Democratic Republic of the); Australia; Myanmar; Cameroon; Malaysia; Iceland; Oman; Armenia; Gabon; Austria; El Salvador; Korea (the Republic of); Brazil; Algeria; Slovenia; Colombia; Ecuador; Hungary; Republic of Kosovo; Japan; Taiwan (Province of China); Bolivia (Plurinational State of); New Zealand; Senegal; Italy; Antarctica; Ethiopia; Macedonia (the former Yugoslav Republic of); Afghanistan; Russian Federation; Czechia; United States of America; Egypt; Saudi Arabia; Pakistan; China; Ireland; Slovakia; France; Lithuania; Serbia; Kyrgyzstan; Romania; Philippines; Rwanda; Uzbekistan; Bangladesh; Nicaragua; Norway; Dominican Republic; Mexico; Uganda; Zimbabwe; Greenland; Indonesia
Care
Exercise care when cleaning your actinolite. A soft cloth should keep it looking its best.
More About Actinolite
Although actinolite is prevalent worldwide, there isn't much folklore that surrounds it. Those who believe in the metaphysical believe that actinolite balances body, mind, and spirit.
Species/Variety
Smaragdite
Smaragdite is the emerald green variety of actinolite. The name comes from the Latin word "Smaragdos" that means green. It gets its green color from trace amounts of chromium.
Optical Phenomena
Cat's Eye
The term cat's eye, or chatoyancy, is used to describe a phenomenal optical property in gemstones, in this case actinolite. The effect, when present, appears as a bright, narrow slit similar to the pupils in the eyes of your favorite feline. This phenomenon is caused by parallel fibrous or needle-like inclusions that interfere with the passage of light throughout the crystal, scattering and reflecting light back to the viewer as a thin line.
