Stichtite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

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STICHTITE: Argent Hill, Tasmania, Australia (specimen ~ 2 inches across). Photo © Joel E. Arem, PhD, FGA. Used with permission.

Stichtite is not facetable, but the pink color is quite striking in cabochons. Cut stones are especially beautiful when there are other minerals present to add splashes of green and yellow. This material somewhat resembles a pink, granular material from the USSR referred to as canasite.

Stichtite Information

Data	Value
Name	Stichtite
Colors	Lilac to rose pink.
Stone Sizes	Massive material is sometime cut into cabochons, but the material is usually used to carve decorative objects such as ashtrays and bookends. The color is usually lilac to purplish, often veined with green serpentine, and the color combination is quite handsome. Blocks weighing several pounds are obtainable.
Formula	Mg₆Cr₂(CO₃)(OH)₁₆· 4H₂O.
Fracture	Uneven
Hardness	1.5-2.5.
Cleavage	Perfect 1 direction
Crystallography	Hexagonal (R) (trigonal). Massive, foliated, fibrous, lamellar, scaly.
Refractive Index	1.518-1.545
Birefringence	0.027
Luminescence	None.
Luminescence Present	No
Absorption Spectrum	Typical Cr spectrum: 3 lines in the red at 6655 to 6300.
Pleochroism	Light to dark red.
Optics	o = 1.545; e = 1.518. Uniaxial (-). Shadow edge seen at about 1.53.
Optic Sign	Uniaxial -
Luster	Pearly, waxy, greasy.
Specific Gravity	2.16 (Quebec); 2.22 (South Africa).
Transparency	Translucent to opaque.

Dimorph of Barbertonite.

Has a greasy feel.

Streak: White to lilac.

Optics: o=1.545; e =1.518.

Uniaxial (-).

Shadow edge seen at about 1.53.

Occurrence: In serpentine rocks, usually associated with chromite.

Black Lake, Quebec, Canada.

Dundas, Tasmania: mixed with green serpentine.

Transvaal, South Africa; Algeria.

Comments: Stichtite is not facetable, but the pink color is quite striking in cabochons. Cut stones are especially beautiful when there are other minerals present to add splashes of green and yellow. This material somewhat resembles a pink, granular material from the USSR referred to as canasite.

Name: After Robert Sticht of Tasmania, general manager of the Mt. Lyell Mining and Railway Co.