Judging quality
Deeper and more velvety blue than chrysocolla, and softer than azurite. Fibrous radiating structure shows on a broken edge.
Silicate
Shattuckite
A deep denim-blue copper silicate, usually in fibrous botryoidal crusts and often intergrown with green malachite, blue-green chrysocolla and red cuprite in extraordinary Namibian combination pieces.
Care
Soft and porous. Dry cleaning; no acids, no ultrasonics.
History & lore
Named for the Shattuck mine at Bisbee, Arizona, where it was first identified in 1915.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Shattuckite
- What is Shattuckite?
- A deep denim-blue copper silicate, usually in fibrous botryoidal crusts and often intergrown with green malachite, blue-green chrysocolla and red cuprite in extraordinary Namibian combination pieces.
- How hard is Shattuckite and what is it made of?
- Shattuckite is a Silicate-family mineral with the composition Cu5(SiO3)4(OH)2. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and rates 3.5-4 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in deep blue, blue, blue-green.
- Where does Shattuckite come from?
- Notable localities for Shattuckite include Kaokoveld, Namibia, Bisbee, Arizona, USA, Congo.
- How do you tell good Shattuckite from filler?
- Deeper and more velvety blue than chrysocolla, and softer than azurite. Fibrous radiating structure shows on a broken edge.
- How do you care for Shattuckite?
- Soft and porous. Dry cleaning; no acids, no ultrasonics.
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.