Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0 [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
An overview on Parisite Jewelry and Gemstones. Covers details and essential information on the physical properties and characteristics of Parisite gemstones
Parisite Value
The International Gem Society (IGS) has a list of businesses offering gemstone appraisal services.
Parisite Information
| Data | Value |
| Name | Parisite |
| Crystallography | Hexagonal; crystals double hexagonal pyramids, often steep, sometimes prismatic, striated; sometimes rhombohedral. |
| Colors | Brownish yellow, brown, grayish yellow. |
| Luster | Vitreous to resinous; pearly on basal cleavage surfaces. |
| Hardness | 4.5. |
| Density | 4.36. |
| Birefringence | 0.081. |
| Cleavage | Distinct basal parting or cleavage; perhaps due to alteration. Fracture subconchoidal to splintery; brittle. |
| Stone Sizes | Parisite is a rare mineral, and crystals are usually very small. Tiny faceted stones (all under 1 carat) have been cut from Montana material. |
| Luminescence | Not reported. |
| Spectral | Not diagnostic. |
| Formula | Ca(Ce,La)2(CO3)3F2. |
| Pleochroism | Weak. |
Optics: o=1.676; e= 1.757.
Uniaxial (+).
Occurrence: In carbonaceous shale beds in the emerald deposits of Muzo, Colombia: also as typical inclusions in emerald crystals. Also in alkali pegmatites in Norway.
Muzo, Colombia.
Langesundsfford, Norway.
Italy; Madagascar; Manchuria.
Quincy, Massachusetts: Ravalli County, Montana.
Name: After J. J. Paris, proprietor of the mine at Muzo where the mineral was first discovered.
