Fluorite Jewelry
One of the most colourful minerals on Earth, often showing several colours in one stone. Soft, so handle gently
Unearthed Gemstones Fluorite Jewelry
Click the photos for a closer look of the jewelry pieces
Hardness
4 (Soft): Handle with care; Easily scratchable.
Toughness
Poor (Fragile — Can chip or break easily; Treat gently and store separately)
Mineral Family
Fluorite (Halide)
Transparency
Transparent
Crystal System
Cubic
Lustre
Vitreous
What Is Fluorite?
Fluorite is calcium fluoride, and it might be the most colourful mineral on Earth. It comes in purple, green, blue, yellow, pink and often several colours banded in a single stone. The famous Blue John from Derbyshire in England is a banded purple fluorite mined since the 1700s. Fluorite also gave its name to fluorescence, because many pieces glow blue-violet under UV light. Major sources include China, Mexico, South Africa and England, and it often grows in perfect glassy cubes.
Is Fluorite Durable Enough for Everyday Jewelry?
Here is the trade-off: fluorite is soft, only 4 on the Mohs scale, and it has perfect cleavage in four directions, so it chips and scratches easily. It is really a stone for pendants, earrings and display rather than rings. Faceted fluorite is spectacular but strictly for gentle wear.
How to Care for Fluorite Jewelry
Keep it away from ultrasonic cleaners, heat and knocks, and store it separately.
Fluorite vs Amethyst: How to Tell Them Apart
Purple fluorite is sometimes passed off as amethyst; the giveaway is that a steel pin will scratch fluorite but not quartz.
Gemstones Similar to Fluorite
Purple fluorite is a classic amethyst look-alike, though a lot softer.
