Complete Gem Phenakite Floater crystal 5.1 carat. Double Terminated.

Rare Crystal. Complete Phenakite Floater crystal 5.1 carat. Double Terminated. Location of find: Madagascar. No damage. This crystal could easily be faceted into a 3 carat gemstone

Phenakite or phenacite is a rare nesosilicate mineral consisting of beryllium orthosilicate, Be2SiO4. Occasionally used as a gemstone, phenakite occurs as isolated crystals, which are rhombohedral with parallel-faced hemihedrism, and are either lenticular or prismatic in habit: the lenticular habit is determined by the development of faces of several obtuse rhombohedra and the absence of prism faces. There is no cleavage, and the fracture is conchoidal. The Mohs hardness is high, being 7.5 - 8. In general appearance the mineral is not unlike quartz, for which indeed it has been mistaken. It is used a gemstone. Its name comes from the Greek phenakos, meaning "deceiver" due to its close visual similarity to quartz.