Star Stones: Star Ruby and Black Star Diopside

I would like to tell you about a couple of Star stones, both of which we offer on our website. The stones are the Star Ruby and the Black Star Diopside.

Let's take a look at Star Rubies first.

Rubies are a red form of corundum, made up of aluminum oxide crystals that contain the element chromium. They are hard stones, with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, which gives them a hardness approaching that of diamonds. For that reason they have been valued as stones to be placed in jewelry.

Traditionally, most rubies have been mined in Asia, in places such as Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. However, rubies have also been found in a variety of other places around the world.

Star Rubies are distinctive because under a bright light they have a six pointed star on their surface. The stars are produced by titanium dioxide impurities in the form of needlelike fibers known as rutiles. Light reflects from these rutiles, producing the star effect.

In the metaphysical sense, rubies are said to help increase vitality and life force energy. Historically, they have been associated with love and commitment.

 

 

Now let's take a look at Black Star Diopside.

Diopside is a mineral made up of magnesium calcium silicon oxide. It is a relatively soft stone with the Mohs hardness of around 6. At the present time, most black Star Diopside comes from India, although other deposits have been found in various places around the world.

Under a bright light, Black Star Diopside has a four-pointed white star, instead of the six-pointed star found in Star Rubies. The star is produced by needle-thin rutiles made up magnetite inclusions.

Because of the way the rutiles are arranged and the way that they reflect light, two of the lines in the star appear to be straight while the other two appear to be crooked or wavy.

In the metaphysical sense, Black Star Diopside is said to revitalize the mind and to cleanse the emotions. Some say that it also helps stimulate creativity.

We have some Star Rubies and Black Star Diopside on our website, Heart of Stone Studio.