anhydrite - Germanyanhydrite - Germany

Anhydrite (Angelite) Value, Price, and Jewelry Information


Rare and difficult to cut, anhydrite is seldom faceted. However, this material can be carved into beautiful objects. “Angelite,” a blue-gray variety, has become a popular choice for lapidary arts.

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HomeGemstonesAnhydrite (Angelite) Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

Rare and difficult to cut, anhydrite is seldom faceted. However, this material can be carved into beautiful objects. “Angelite,” a blue-gray variety, has become a popular choice for lapidary arts.

anhydrite - Germany
Anhydrite: Saxony, Germany (2.29). Photo © Joel E. Arem, PhD, FGA. Used with permission.

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Anhydrite (Angelite) Value

anhydrite - Italy
Anhydrites, 4.9 x 3.1 x 2.1 cm, Niccioleta Mine, Massa Marittima, Grosseto Province, Tuscany, Italy. © Rob Lavinsky, www.iRocks.com. Used with permission.

Does Anhydrite Make a Good Jewelry Stone?

Anhydrite doesn't occur in abundance. When exposed to water over time, it alters into the much more commonly found gypsum. Not surprisingly, facetable material is rarer still.

With excellent cleavage planes in three directions, anhydrites also prove challenging to cut and fragile for wear. Furthermore, with a hardness range of 3-3.5, they're very susceptible to scratching, which further limits their use as jewelry stones. Avoid ring use and use protective settings whenever possible with this gem. Consider creating earrings, pendants, and bracelets, instead. Artisans have carved objects and cut cabochons from this material. Of course, carvings and decorative objects will hopefully face fewer risks than jewelry.

angelite carving
Native American Zuni fetish, carved by Leland Boone. Angelite (anhydrite) squirrel with coral eyes; shell, arrowhead, coral, and turquoise nugget spirit pack, 2⅜" x 1⅝" x ⅝". Photo courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and Desert West Auction.

Anhydrites usually have pale, soft colors. Blues, violets, and pinks are especially prized by collectors.

anhydrite - Iran
3.41-ct anhydrite, medium light purplish-pink, freeform step cut, 15.4 x 5.6, Iran. © The Gem Trader. Used with permission.

What is Angelite?

This translucent, blue-gray anhydrite variety known by the trade name "angelite" or "angeline" has become a popular gem material. Discovered in Peru, it was introduced to worldwide gem markets in the late 1980s. This material has been used for beads, spheres, and carvings. Of course, these trade names carry deliberate angelic connotations. The gem's color may evoke sky blue or, perhaps, a "heavenly" blue.

angelite bracelet - anhydrite variety
Angelite and bronze-colored metal bracelet. Jewelry and photo by Imaginarium-Annelise. Licensed under CC By 2.0.

Other Anhydrite Varieties

Although angelite is the most well-known anhydrite variety, various types of anhydrites with lapidary uses or unusual appearances have also received trade names.

Bowel Stone

Anhydrite that occurs in folded, concretionary forms is known as bowel stone. This variety name also carries deliberate connotations.

bowel stone - Canada
"Slithering biogeochemical sediments slip slidin' away," a "seriously folded slice" of anhydrite from Crownest Pass, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada. Photo by Mike Beauregard. Licensed under CC By 2.0.

Blue "Egyptian" Anhydrite

The Ancient Egyptians used white anhydrite as well as a distinctive blue-tinted variety to create beautiful objects. However, the ancient source of the blue material, which takes a good polish, has never been found.

Ancient Egyptian anhydrite kohl jar
Kohl pot, ca. 1938-1700 BCE, anhydrite, 4.5 x 4.1 cm. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 07.447.206. Licensed under CC By 3.0.

Vulpinite

This white-gray, marble-like textured material from Volpino, Italy is used locally for cabs and as a decorative stone.

Identifying Characteristics

Cleavage

Because of the intersection of anhydrite's cleavage planes at right angles, these gems may break apart and reveal cube-like (pseudo-cubic) forms. This appearance has led to another name for this gemstone: "cube spar." Despite appearances, anhydrites have an orthorhombic crystal habit, not a cubic or isometric habit.

anhydrite - cube spar
Note the cube-like formations in this fractured piece of anhydrite. Gypsum Quarry Arnave, Tarascon-sur-Ariège, Ariège, Midi-Pyrénées. Photo by Didier Descouens. Licensed under CC By-SA 3.0.

Distinguishing Anhydrite from Marble

While marble will effervesce when exposed to hydrochloric acid, anhydrite will not. An acid test may help distinguish carved or crystal anhydrites from marble items that may appear similar. However, keep in mind that acid testing is a destructive technique. Conduct this examination only as a last resort on an inconspicuous part of the object.

Are There Synthetic Anhydrites?

Anhydrite has many practical applications. Like its more abundant "alter ego," gypsum, it's used in a variety of construction materials as well as fertilizers. However, it exceeds gypsum in both calcium content and solubility, so it makes a better soil treatment. Thus, there's an industrial demand to synthesize this material but no known jewelry use for it.

carved anhydrite plaque by Ophelia Gordon Bell
Once considered a "nuisance product" from the manufacture of hydrochloric acid, synthetic anhydrite created from this process is now dried in kilns and used for many applications. The English sculptor Ophelia Gordon Bell carved this plaque depicting an anhydrite kiln from a piece of anhydrite. The carving now resides at the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes, UK. Picture by and © Andy Mabbett. Licensed under CC By-SA 4.0.

Anhydrite Enhancements

Blue and violet colors in anhydrites disappear when heat treated. However, gamma ray bombardment will restore them. Therefore, these colors possibly occur naturally due to natural radiation in the earth. Please note, natural specimens aren't radioactive or harmful.

anhydrite - Mexico
A large, pastel blue anhydrite specimen, 11.8 x 9.0 x 5.8 cm. Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. © Rob Lavinsky, www.iRocks.com. Used with permission.

Where are Anhydrites Found?

Notable sources of gem-quality material include the following:

  • Simplon Tunnel, Switzerland: pale purple cleavages, facetable.
  • Canada: Nova Scotia; Faraday Mine, Bancroft, Ontario (large purplish masses, some facetable).
  • Peru: in addition to angelite, other colors.
  • Italy: in addition to vulpinite, other varieties.
  • Iran: facetable.
  • Mexico: large blue masses, very lovely color, as well as other colors.
  • United States: New Jersey; New Mexico; South Dakota; Texas.
  • Austria; France; Germany; India; Poland; Sri Lanka.
anhydrites on feldspar matrix - Switzerland
Discovered around 1900, this beautiful crystal specimen has a violet anhydrite crystal resting on a feldspar matrix with another paler anhydrite also emerging from it. Simplon Railway Tunnel, Valais, Switzerland. © Rob Lavinsky, www.iRocks.com. Used with permission.

Stone Sizes

faceted anhydrite - Germany
Anhydrite: Germany (6.1). © Joel E. Arem, PhD, FGA. Used with permission.

Rarely faceted anhydrites usually come in small sizes (1-5 carats). However, faceters have cut gems up to 9 carats, so the potential exists for larger sizes. Cleavage masses could provide larger rough.

Swiss and Canadian localities produce most of the faceted material, usually in purplish or pale pink colors.

  • Private Collection: 2.86 (pink-blue bicolor, Bancroft).

How to Care for Anhydrites

Keep any anhydrites dry, especially if placed in storage. They will readily absorb moisture and, over time, turn wholly or partly into gypsum.

Don't wipe dust off anhydrites. Since household dust consists mostly of silicon quartz, which is far harder (7) than anhydrites, you'll scratch them. Pat them with a lint-free cloth, instead.

For more recommendations, consult our gemstone jewelry care guide.


Joel E. Arem, Ph.D., FGA

Dr. Joel E. Arem has more than 60 years of experience in the world of gems and minerals. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Mineralogy from Harvard University, he has published numerous books that are still among the most widely used references and guidebooks on crystals, gems and minerals in the world.

Co-founder and President of numerous organizations, Dr. Arem has enjoyed a lifelong career in mineralogy and gemology. He has been a Smithsonian scientist and Curator, a consultant to many well-known companies and institutions, and a prolific author and speaker. Although his main activities have been as a gem cutter and dealer, his focus has always been education. joelarem.com


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