Although hard enough for jewelry use, rare hambergite is a gem for collectors of the unusual. Its combination of high birefringence and very low specific gravity makes it easy to identify.
1 Minute Read
Hambergite's relatively high hardness (7.5) exceeds that of quartz. It would make an excellent jewelry stone, but its cleavage can make faceting these stones difficult. As a result, you'll more likely find hambergites in mineral collections than jewelry collections.
Hambergite has the lowest known specific gravity of any gem with such high birefringence. As a result, larger size stones will show significant birefringent effects without much additional weight. Although hambergites have little fire and may resemble quartz gems, they have much higher birefringence than similar-appearing gemstones.
Usually, cut stones are not clean but filled with cleavage traces.
Stones from Norway sometimes show weak, pink-orange luminescence in longwave ultraviolet light.
There are no known synthetic hambergites or enhancements for these gemstones.
Anjanabanoana, Madagascar produces large, gemmy crystals.
Other significant sources of crystals include the following:
Hambergite is a fairly rare mineral, and material transparent enough to facet is rarer still. In 1968, a dealer offered a white stone of 28.86 carats. Nevertheless, cut gems over 5 carats are very rare.
Hambergites require no special care. For general information on caring for gemstone jewelry, consult our gemstone jewelry cleaning guide for more recommendations.
When you join the IGS community, you get trusted diamond & gemstone information when you need it.
Hambergite's relatively high hardness (7.5) exceeds that of quartz. It would make an excellent jewelry stone, but its cleavage can make faceting these stones difficult. As a result, you'll more likely find hambergites in mineral collections than jewelry collections.
Hambergite has the lowest known specific gravity of any gem with such high birefringence. As a result, larger size stones will show significant birefringent effects without much additional weight. Although hambergites have little fire and may resemble quartz gems, they have much higher birefringence than similar-appearing gemstones.
Usually, cut stones are not clean but filled with cleavage traces.
Stones from Norway sometimes show weak, pink-orange luminescence in longwave ultraviolet light.
There are no known synthetic hambergites or enhancements for these gemstones.
Anjanabanoana, Madagascar produces large, gemmy crystals.
Other significant sources of crystals include the following:
Hambergite is a fairly rare mineral, and material transparent enough to facet is rarer still. In 1968, a dealer offered a white stone of 28.86 carats. Nevertheless, cut gems over 5 carats are very rare.
Hambergites require no special care. For general information on caring for gemstone jewelry, consult our gemstone jewelry cleaning guide for more recommendations.
Although hard enough for jewelry use, rare hambergite is a gem for collectors of the unusual. Its combination of high birefringence and very low specific gravity makes it easy to identify.
