ZOISITE SPECIMENS

Zoisite belongs to the epidote group of minerals and is a calcium aluminum hydroxy sorosilicate. It can be found in a variety of colors, including green, pink, brown, yellow, grey, white, blue, purple, or colorless. The color it bears depends on the ion substitutions within the chemical formula. For example, thulite is a pink variety of zoisite that gains its pink color from manganese substituting for calcium within the crystal lattice, and tanzanite is a blue-violet variety of zoisite that gains its color from the substitution of vanadium. Zoisite was originally known as saualpite.