|
Color:
Green
Durability:
Fair (remember it is glass!)
Localities:
Although meteorites fall world wide, moldavite is from the
Czech Republic
|
Moldavite
SiO2 +
Al,Ca,Fe,K,Na
Moldavite is a naturally occurring glass, originally found
along the Moldau River in Czechoslovakia in 1787. It is
usually a dark olive green color but can also occur in muted
yellows and browns. It is one of a handfull of gems that
can claim an extraterrestrial origin*. Moldavite is believed
to be the outer surface of meteorites, that fused and melted
during entry into our atmosphere. Moldavite has a diagnostic
pattern of striae and bubbles (elongated, torpedo-shaped)
that are unlike man-made glass. It does not contain crystals
like those found in volcanic glass or obsidian. The Holy
Grail is said to be carved out of a green stone that fell
from Satan's crown as he descended from Heaven to Hell.
Popular legend has long claimed this stone to be an emerald.
It has recently been proposed that the Holy Grail may have
been carved from moldavite, using the stone falling from
Satan's crown as a metaphor for the green stone falling
from the sky.
*Peridot
in pallasite meteorites and forsterite/peridot in comet
dust are other examples of gems with an extraterrestial
origin.
.
Moldavites are found in a strewnfield centered around
Moldavia (Moldau River Valley) in former Czechoslovakia
and are believed to have come from a meteorite crater
in Germany. The Moldavite strewnfield is divided into
two parts and the tektites from each of these parts
are distinctive in color from each other. These areas
are quite small, but large amounts of moldavites have
been found. The most prized are the deeply grooved
and clear green pieces. The green Moldavites have
been and continue to be used for stones in jewelry.
Moldavites are sometimes cut as gemstones or put into
jewelry as natural uncut pieces to show off their
often eerie and beautifully intricate shapes. |
|
