meerschaum
sculpted meerschaum pipe from Turkye
meerschaum pipe from Turkye
rough sepiolite or meerschaum from kenya
meerschaum pipe from Turkey
Detailed sheet
meerschaum
This is a silicate in the form of tiny crystals assembled in concretions in highly porous aggregates. This porosity allows it to float, it hardens as it dries.
Its name, sepiolite, it has been awarded by the German mineralogist E. F. Glocker, that determined the composition in 1847, referring to the Greek “sepia” for cuttlefish and “lithos” for stone, from the shell limestone ridge of the cuttlefish, white and porous as the meerschaum. However, for other it derives from a Greek word meaning “soft”, referring to the sensation provided by its touch.
As nodules float in water, was familiarly called “sea foam”. The old manuals called it, quite wrongly, “magnesite”, a very recent different mineral .
CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mg4[Si6O15](OH)2
magnesium silicate
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Main color
white
Other colors
grey, yellow
sometimes reddish
Color of streak
white
Luster
dull, silky
Hardness
2.0 to 2.5
Density
2.00 to 2.10
Cleavage
none
Fracture
conchoidal
it glues to tongue
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
Transparency
opaque
Refractive index
1.500 - 1.550
Double refraction
0.000
none
visible double refraction
No
Dispersion
keine
Pleochroism
absent
Number of colors
1
Fluorescence
none
CRYSTALS PROPERTIES
microcrystalline structure
crystals system
orthorhombic
OTHER INFORMATIONS
APPROACHING GEMS
Exploited
sites
It occurs in irregular nodular masses, which are a form of corruption, but also as tubers in porous sediments resulting from weathering of serpentine rocks.
In Turkey, serpentine shafts of Eskishehir, west of Ankara (Anatolia), are the only economically viable deposits. Deposits are found also in Bosnia, Greece (Samos), Spain, United States (Texas), Morocco, Iran, Africa (Tanzania) …
use in jewelry
It is used to carve pipe bowls, cigar and cigarette holders (somewhat old fashion!), Decorative objects, thermal and acoustic insulation, absorbent products, additives for toothpastes, substitutes of soap.
Daily care
and precautions
Stains very easily, must be protectted it from fat.
Other
Gems
Venez visitez
notre site web
voillot-joaillier.fr
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