Getting Stoned: Phenakite, The Deceiver

Today on Getting Stoned, I want to talk about a lovely mineral called Phenakite. Phenakite, spelled with either a c or a k, is a rare neso-silicate mineral with beryllium ortho-silicate. It's often found sold as a crystal and used in spiritual practices or worn as jewelry.

Southern Jewelry News shared some great info on Phenakite which is a great gem alternative to diamonds while not actually trying to be a diamond. Phenakites have a colorless variety (they also have peach and gold) and although they are known are a rare stone, they are, in my opinion, easily obtainable. I have some and have wrapped and sold some to customers.

Phenakite gets its name from the Ancient Greek word, phenakos which means deceiver and this is because of the gem's appearance. The gem is similar to quartz. Rough Phenakite sometimes may display trigons which would lead one to think they've found a diamond and ranks 7.5-8 on the Moh's scale.

PalaGems pointed out that Phenakite was first found with an emerald and alexandrite embedded in a mica-schist in the Ural Mountains. It was also found in the Urals on Lake Ilmen at Miask.

Here’s an interesting fact about Phenakite and the U.S. Navy. The USS Phenakite was a converted yacht used by the Navy during both World Wars and was built in 1902 as the yacht, Celt. It had other names as well. As the USS Phenakite, it patrolled the waters off of the Florida Keys during World War II.

https://southernjewelrynews.com/columnists/the-story-behind-the-stone-finding-phenakite/

http://www.palagems.com/rarer-gems

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Phenakite

Getting Stoned is a podcast about gems, minerals, and fun conversations that may go off-topic--but that’s perfectly fine. The mission of this podcast is to encourage folks to explore the wonderful world of crystals, gems, minerals, and the various ways they are used in life, technology, and more.

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