Earstuds – oval – Malachite

Malachite is a fragile, deep green copper mineral. It is often found in copper mines along with other copper minerals like Azurite or Chrysocolla. Malachite has been used as copper ore and as indicator of copper veins deeper in the earth. The oldest use of Malachite as an ore dates back to 5000 BC and beads have been found as old as 7000 BC from Mesopotamia. The mineral dissolves in water and thus should never be cleaned with water or used in drinking water. Next to dissolving in water, Malachite also turns it toxic. The stone is found in all kinds of shapes, from bubbly to fibrous to beautiful stalactitic growths. Sometimes it is found in larger singular crystals, but this is always Azurite that Changes into Malachite due to oxidation. Malachite is faked by using polymer clay in green layers, but this is quickly recognised due to the black layers, instead of dark green.