Judging quality
Distinct magenta-red patches with a slightly greasy lustre. The name comes from Greek for 'easily dissolved', because it breaks down readily in acid.
Silicate
Eudialyte
Raspberry-red zirconium silicate scattered through dark alkaline rock with black aegirine and white feldspar — a striking three-color combination unique to a handful of peralkaline intrusions.
Care
Some material is mildly radioactive from trace elements; display normally but do not grind or store in a sealed bedroom cabinet in quantity. No acids.
History & lore
Described from Greenland in 1819; the Kola deposits are among the most mineralogically diverse places on earth, with dozens of species found nowhere else.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Eudialyte
- What is Eudialyte?
- Raspberry-red zirconium silicate scattered through dark alkaline rock with black aegirine and white feldspar — a striking three-color combination unique to a handful of peralkaline intrusions.
- How hard is Eudialyte and what is it made of?
- Eudialyte is a Silicate-family mineral with the composition Na15Ca6Fe3Zr3Si(Si25O73)(O,OH,H2O)3(Cl,OH)2. It crystallizes in the trigonal system and rates 5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in magenta, pink-red, red.
- Where does Eudialyte come from?
- Notable localities for Eudialyte include Kola Peninsula, Russia, Greenland (Ilímaussaq), Quebec, Canada.
- How do you tell good Eudialyte from filler?
- Distinct magenta-red patches with a slightly greasy lustre. The name comes from Greek for 'easily dissolved', because it breaks down readily in acid.
- How do you care for Eudialyte?
- Some material is mildly radioactive from trace elements; display normally but do not grind or store in a sealed bedroom cabinet in quantity. No acids.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.