Sillimanite - the stone of deceivers

The mineral sillimanite is quite widespread in nature and is mined for the purpose of obtaining high-quality refractories from it later and using it in the production of ceramic products. Also, sillimanite ores are considered as promising raw materials for aluminum production. In addition, at present, transparent and not only sillimanite crystals and their fragments are also used in the manufacture of jewelry inserts. Dense crystalline aggregates of sillimanite can be found not only in the form of inserts in jewelry, but also in inexpensive jewelry. Sillimanites in the form of cabochons with the optical phenomenon of "cat's eye" look especially impressive. However, all of the above varieties of this mineral are rare and cannot meet the demand of buyers. This is due to the fact that sillimanite is most often colorless or colored in various shades of gray. They learned to fight this grayness of sillimanite with the help of ennobling, namely, painting. The structure of dense polycrystalline aggregates of sillimanite allows inexpensive coloration of the material, both with conventional dyes and with the use of glasses. And now, instead of simple sillimanite, you are holding in your hands a green emerald, a red ruby, and a blue sapphire. These are the most popular sillimanite colors. And although the optical properties are far from the precious stones that it imitates, and it is not difficult to distinguish it from them, nevertheless, such inexpensive “precious stones” can be found in the tourist souvenir market and even in jewelry stores in some countries of Southeast Asia. And the price will not arouse suspicion from an inexperienced buyer - after all, the stones are not even transparent, but translucent, which cannot be very expensive, even if they were real corundum or beryl. And now tourists are bringing inexpensive "rubies" and "emeralds" as a keepsake. Of course, not glass and not synthetics, but also not what I wanted to buy - a disappointment. Be careful, always check your upcoming purchases with specialists, and remember about a common deceiving mineral - its name is sillimanite.