One of the most unique things about the sphene gemstone is that it can feature a dazzling 'fire' phenomenon, which makes it a very popular stone for lovers of unique jewelry.
This fire special effect is because of the dispersion and refers to the ability of the gem to draw light apart into its constituent colors. This works just like the glass prism that unfolds sunlight into the rainbow by refraction.
Sphene is a rare collector stone with an unusually high refractive index and a hardness of 5.5. Because of its high dispersion and refractive index, a well-cut sphene can display stunning brilliance. And even though it's well loved as jewelry, it's hard to find. However, Sphene can be very difficult to cut as gems so it is always considered often a rarity on the gem market.
If you'd like to know the more physical properties of sphene, then let's lay them out. The Sphene gemstone has a hardness of 5.5 on the MOHS, which makes it a bit more delicate on a piece of fine jewelry. Sphene is known for its titanium content, and it occurs as translucent to transparent, reddish brown, gray, yellow, green, or red
crystals. These dazzling sphene crystals are typically sphenoid in property, when means that they are twinned and possess a subadamantine tending to slightly resinous luster. Under the microscope a sphene gem appears to have a distinctive high relief, which combined with the common yellow-brown color makes the mineral easy to identify. Transparent specimens of sphene are noted for their strong trichoism, or better, the fact that its three colors presented are dependent on the gem's body color.
Sphene is best known to be found in certain regions of Pakistan, Russia, Mt Vesuvius, Italy, Ontario, Canada, New York and California.
But enough with the technical aspects of this fine gem. If you'd like to see just how dazzling it looks on jewelry, shop around at Eagle National Mint. There you'll find the bests selection of Sphene and other unique gemstones and find collectibles.