WarpedSiren Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 Hello all, newbie here and I would really appreciate some help. I bought a crystal sphere being told it was Lepidolite. After receiving it, it looks nothing like I'm used to with Lepidolite and have since been told it's possibly Kunzite. I am attaching photos without flash and with flash. Any help at all please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Seeker Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 I'm not sure what you have just looking at the photos....but you can do a hardness test to see if it's close to either one you've mentioned, Lepidolite has a hardness of 2.5 to 3 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it relatively very soft, Kunzite on the other hand is 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, so rather hard, very close to quartz in hardness also most if not all of the Kunzite specimens I have seen have a much clearer/transparent crystal look to them and in various colors lilac/pink/purple as well as from clear to brown, yellow, etc. depending on how much manganese is in it, so just from these points alone I would say it's not Kunzite, whereas the Lepidolite specimens I've seen are not transparent and look more like what's in your photos. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarpedSiren Posted May 18, 2022 Author Share Posted May 18, 2022 Thank you ever so much for your response and explanation. I've always known Lepidolite to be a darker colour so got confused lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Herschbach Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 On 5/18/2022 at 2:01 PM, Gold Seeker said: Lepidolite has a hardness of 2.5 to 3 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it relatively very soft, Kunzite on the other hand is 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, so rather hard That’s the key way to know for sure. https://www.gemsociety.org/article/select-gems-ordered-mohs-hardness/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff McClendon Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 It is kind of hard to do a hardness test using a polished sphere..... I am going to unequivocally say that the sphere in your photograph is not Lepidolite mica. If it was Lepidolite you should see many cleavage faces and much smaller polished individual platelets of mica. Personally, I think your Kunzite supposition is an excellent one. I do see some evidence of cleavage planes and the white/lavender color zoning is just right for less gem quality Kunzite that is tending towards more common Spodumene. It is very beautiful. The Harding Mine near Taos NM had some Spodumene crystals that were also tending towards Kunzite that were huge along with Lepidolite and other amazing lithium rich pegmatite minerals. I say had because I have not been there in 30 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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