What are the mineral properties of Prasiolite?
Prasiolite, like all Quartz, is composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2). It forms hexagonal crystals, has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, and a specific gravity (a measure of a stone’s weight in proportion to its size) of 2.65. It contains a specific type of iron compound which changes to a green color when heated (see above) – either by naturally occurring or manual application of heat. Natural prasiolite crystlas are reported to often be dichroic – this means they appear as different colors when observed under lights with differing polarizations.
