Cuprite

<h2 id="as-a-gemstone">As a gemstone</h2>
<p>Though almost all crystals of cuprite are far too small to yield faceted <a href="/facts/Gemstone/kHffmvE3">gemstones</a>, one unique deposit from Onganja in <a href="/facts/Seeis/3z6ouWGG">Seeis</a>, <a href="/facts/Namibia/ahXuaypy">Namibia</a>, which was discovered in the 1970s, has produced crystals which were both large and gem quality. Virtually every faceted stone over one carat (0.2 g) in weight is from this single deposit, which has long since been mined out. The number of faceted gems over two carats (0.4 g) is difficult to estimate, but according to Joel Arem, one-time curator for the <a href="/facts/Smithsonian/pqC74ta9">Smithsonian</a> <a href="/facts/National_Gem_and_Mineral_Collection/nn6mUbfE">National Gem and Mineral Collection</a> in <a href="/facts/Washington,_D.C./enXPK156">Washington, D.C.</a>, faceted cuprite of any size is considered one of the most collectible and spectacular gems in existence, with its deep garnet coloring and higher brilliance than a diamond. Only the gem's soft nature prevents it from being among the most valuable jewelry stones.
</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Bornite/LlzeuLy1">Bornite</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tennantite/He1Hj9BE">Tennantite</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tenorite/luwtRvF1">Tenorite</a> CuO</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Tetrahedrite/FfLq9tGy">Tetrahedrite</a></li></ul>

Look up <i>cuprite</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Spencer, Leonard James (1911). "Cuprite" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 635. <a href="/wiki/Leonard_James_Spencer" target="_blank">/wiki/Leonard_James_Spencer</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Spencer, Leonard James (1911). "Cuprite" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 635. <a href="/wiki/Leonard_James_Spencer" target="_blank">/wiki/Leonard_James_Spencer</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis, 1985, Manual of Mineralogy, 20th ed., Wiley, p. 299-300 ISBN 0-471-80580-7 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Spencer, Leonard James (1911). "Cuprite" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 635. <a href="/wiki/Leonard_James_Spencer" target="_blank">/wiki/Leonard_James_Spencer</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"Cuprite". Webmineral data. Retrieved 2010-07-10. <a href="http://www.webmineral.com/data/Cuprite.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.webmineral.com/data/Cuprite.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Joel E. Arem, Ph.D., F.G.A., Color Encyclopedia of Gemstones, 1977, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Cuprite open-in-new

Cuprite