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Download hereGENERAL DESCRIPTION
Serendibite is a magnesium and calcium alumino-boro-silicate. It forms in skarns (limestones having undergone a contact metamorphism because of cooling granites). It is seldom presented as small tabular crystals, but more often as irregular grains and crystalline aggregates.
Serendibite is transparent to opaque, with a blue color up to black-bluish.
There are only a few deposits of serendibite throughout the world: Gangapitija in Sri Lanka, Crestmore in California and Johnsburg in the state of New York (USA), the district of Mogok in Burma or Vohimena Hill in Madagascar.
No serendibite deposit is yet known in France.
The types of this species are preserved at the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris. They were offered by A.K. Coomaraswamy in 1903 (inventored MNHN 103.683 and 103.39).
Did you know? Although seldom found gemmeous, serendibite is sometimes cut and used as a rare gem by collectors.
HISTORY : Name derived from Ancient Arab "serendib" meaning Ceylan, old name of Sri Lanka
Species described in 1902 by George Prior (1862-1936), English mineralogist and Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877-1947), geologist and botanist Sri Lankais
Type-locality : Gangapitija, Ambakotte, Sri Lanka
CHEMICAL FORMULA : Ca2 (Mg,Al)6 (Si,Al,B)6 O20
CRYSTAL SYSTEM : Triclinic
COLOR : Blue-green to intense blue, green, brown
DIAPHANIETY : Transparent to opaque
LUSTER : Vitreous
STREAK : White
MORPHOLOGIE : Aggregates, seldomly small tabular crystals
HARDNESS : 6,5-7,0
CHEMICAL CLASS: 3,47
DENSITY : VIII- Silicates
GROUP : Aenigmatite-saphirine
STRUNZ CLASS BEFORE 2001 : 8/F.14-60
STRUNZ CLASS AFTER 2001 : 9.DH.40
