EPIDOTE (JEWELRY)

Epidote is a typically green silicate mineral that forms long, lustrous, prismatic or tabular-shaped crystals. Epidote is most often a dark olive green color but can also be yellowish. While it has no industrial uses and is not used in gem or jewelry making, quality epidote specimens are highly coveted by collectors for their intriguing color and fan-shaped aggregates most crystals form in.

Epidote is also the basis of two separate rocks, epidosite (epidote and quartz) and unakite (epidote and orthoclase feldspar). In the gem trade, unakite has become quite popular for bead making because of its green and pink coloration.