Seraphinite

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Name/Title

Seraphinite

Entry/Object ID

2013.1.22

Description

Chemical Composition: SiO2 Crystal System: Triclinic System Description: Common Name: Seraphinite Chemistry: (Mg,Fe)3(Si,Al)4O10 Group: Silicates Location: Lake Baikal Region, Siberia Description: This unique specimen has a cut and polished face showing brilliant greens and whites.. It has a texture similar to plume agate with vivid crystals patterns. Physical Charateristics: Seraphinite is a trade name for a particular form of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group. Seraphinite apparently acquired its name due to its resemblance to feathers, such as one might find on a bird's wing. With some specimens the resemblance is quite strong, with shorter down-like feathery growths leading into longer "flight feathers"; the resemblance even spurs fanciful marketing phrases like "silver plume seraphinite." Seraphinite is generally dark green to gray in color, has chatoyancy, and has hardness between 2 and 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Seraphinite is mined in a limited area of eastern Siberia in Russia. Russian mineralogist Nikolay Koksharov (1818-1892 or 1893) is often credited with its discovery. It occurs in the Korshunovskoye iron skarn deposit in the Irkutskaya Oblast of Eastern Siberia.[1] The word seraph is from Isaiah 6 in the Hebrew Testament, and refers to winged angelic beings in service of God. Fracture: Conchoidal Hardness: 7 Quartz Luster: Pearly Rock Type: Sedimentary Specific Gravity: 2.68-2.72 Streak: White

Collection

RAGM Mineral Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2013.1

Source or Donor

Crater Rock Museum (Misc. donors)

Acquisition Method

Gift

Dimensions

Width

3-1/2 in

Depth

2 in

Length

7-3/4 in

Location

Location

Display Case

FS-16

Room

Frieda Smith Hall

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Exhibit

Moved By

Jillian Mather Kettley

Date

January 28, 2025

Notes

Location/ inventory