Angelite - Stone of Angels
Mineralogy of Angelite does not know. There is no angel among the list of rocks, precious and semiprecious stones. The sonorous name of the gem came into use only 30 years ago: the discovery of deposits of blue anhydrite in Peru prompted marketers to create a new product trend.
The popularity of Angelite is mainly observed overseas. In Russia, only a few masters work with Angelite, and few merchants decide to place jewelry with angels on their shelves - and all because this stone is fragile, unstable, easily damaged and afraid of moisture.
The price of products from Angelite does not exceed the value of crafts made from jasper and chalcedony. Impeccable angelic pendants are sold in European online stores at 4-5 euros per unit. Angelite Tumbling is estimated at 60 euros per kilogram of products. Chinese e-commerce agrees to even less money, but offers products of uneven quality - or even plastic, imitating natural Angelite.
The word angel is a purely commercial term. So since 1987, the name has been called a bluish variety of anhydrite. Similar in color to the sky, a little clouded by transparent clouds, an angel really makes one think of angels flying from heaven...
Over time, commodity anhydrides of any tone - including lilac, grayish, whitish, and even reddish - also began to be called angels. There is nothing surprising in such a metamorphosis: the buyer reacts much more positively to the mention of God's assistants than to chemical terms.
The properties of Angelite coincide with the properties of anhydrite.
The chemical name of the compound is calcium sulfate, the formula is CaSO4.
The color of the angel is blue, grayish-blue, grayish-purple, blurry shades of purple.
An Angelite is opaque, but it can shine through.
A gloss of wax (on chips), sometimes pearlescent, after polishing - glass.
The hardness of an angel is not more than 3.5 units according to Mohs.
In a humid environment, the CaSO4 molecule attaches a hydroxyl group, as a result of which the Angelite slowly turns into gypsum, increasing by a third in volume and cracking.
Angelite is easily processed, but it is used infrequently as an ornamental stone. The reason for this is partly the few deposits of high-quality semiprecious stone, and partly the fragility of products from it.
Good commercial-grade angels are mined in the mountainous regions of Europe and America. Amateur artists cut figures from Angelite (angels are popular in the Catholic tradition), caskets, amulets. The best specimens of stone are used as inserts in rings, earrings, brooches, and pendants.
As a rule, products with Angelite are made at home, and therefore they look non-standard. The frame of the angel is inexpensive metals: silver, cupronickel, nickel silver, and brass, bronze. Sellers warn: products with angels should be protected from abrasive and mechanical stresses, protected from water, cleaned without the use of aggressive reagents.
Mineralogical exhibits with collectible Angelite are very expressive. Usually, these are intergrowths of blue anhydrite with halite, crystalline gypsum, calcite, and dolomite. Massive angels go to the manufacture of facing materials for the premises.
Low-quality angels are used as industrial raw materials for the production of sulfur compounds and building cement.
Metaphysical Properties of Angelite
Attempts by esotericists to connect blue calcium sulfate with the world of angels has so far been unsuccessful. According to the clergy, several generations of believers should be replaced before the “prayer” of the stone makes it an effective tool for influencing fate.
Foreign existential stone experts recommend accustoming an Angelite both to the owner by everyday wearing on the body and to the world of light, that is, to expose the gem under the sun and stars.
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