On stand – Selenite #5

Selenite is a variety of the fragile mineral Gypsum. It is most common colourless or white, but can also be found in other colours. It is also called Satin Spar sometimes. Most of the times the crystalline structure can be seen very well in rough, but also in worked stones. It is a fragile mineral; it can be scratched with a nail and even completely dissolve in water, so don’t clean your Selenites with water. The name of the stone comes from the Greek ‘Selenitès’, which means ‘stones of the moon’. That means that Selenite has been known to man since Ancient times. The biggest Selenite crystals have been found in a cave in a silver mine in Mexico. The biggest of the crystals is 11 meters and weighs around 12 metric tonnes!