By Chisom Ibemere
Phosphophyllite is a rare mineral which is made up of hydrated zinc phosphate. It is highly prized and valued for its rarity and for its delicate bluish green colour by collectors. It is rarely cut because of its fragility and brittle nature and its large crystals are valuable to be broken.
Phosphophyllite can be produced artificially by the addition of diammonium phosphate to a solution of zinc and iron sulfate.
Phosphophyllite is found in association with Chalcopyrite and Triphylite minerals. The finest forms originated from Potosi, Bolivia and may also be seen in locations such a as Hampshire, United States and Hagendorf, Germany etc.
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Phosphophyllite comes in blue-green colours, and are colourless in transmitted light. It has a vitreous, sub-vitreous, resinous and waxy lustre with a hardness of 3-3.5. It has a specific gravity of 3.08-3.13 with a monoclinic crystal system.
The name Phosphophyllite is given in 1920 by Heinrich Laubmann and Hermann Steinmetz. It was named in allusion to its composition, a phosphate, and its physical structure, from the Greek phyllos for leaf, which refers to its perfect cleavage.
Brilliantly cut phosphophyllite is beautiful, few large facetable crystals exist. Producing faceted phosphophyllite remains one of the more desirable and expensive gemstones.
Phosphophyllite gemstone are usually sold in their rough and natural form. Its rarity makes the rough gems higher than average prices in comparism to mainstream minerals.
