Bizarrite - The Strangest Gemstones

Bizarrite - The Strangest Stones

People have a strange relationship with weird, unusual, and strange things. Let's be real, almost everyone reading this article has probably gone down the path of looking up strange unsolved mysteries. We love the appeal of the unusual. So, here are a few odd stones that are unlike any other!

Icosahedrite

Let's start things off with a really strange one. This gemstone, when first discovered, was one of a kind. In fact, it was the first known "quasicrystal" as it has a symmetric, rigid, and aperiodic structure.

This Penrose Tiling image is an example of what a quasicrystalline structure could look like. For the longest time, no such thing had been discovered. But arduous efforts by Dan Shechtman and Lucas Bindi resulted in the discovery and approval of Icosahedrite.

Aside from this stone, any quasicrystal could qualify as being an unusual or strange stone. When compared to most crystal structures, they are indeed rather unique and bizarre!

Proustite

We would never really consider a gemstone to be shy to the camera. We love photographing stones, and most of them put on a pretty face for when we need to snap a photo or two. But Proustite is strange. This thing would hate flash photography, as it naturally becomes dark and gloomy when exposed to light.

Normally, Proustite has a healthy red hue, is brilliant, and simply beautiful. Let it sit out in the sun (or under any light) too long and it shrivels up into a black heart of a crystal. It is also a fairly soft stone, so it's not a good choice for fitting into jewelry. These two elements make it rank low on the list of gemstones you might want to wear, which is tragic because the stone is downright gorgeous.

Mellite

Honey is delicious, so it should then follow that what is often called honeystone is delicious to the eyes, right? Of course! Mellite is a beautiful golden gemstone. Well, it's actually organic; this makes it fall in the ranks with those like amber, jet, and coral. This already makes Mellite a fairly uncommon stone, but that's not what makes it unique. While Mellite is considered an organic gemstone, it forms with lignite. Due to its formation, Mellite is often considered to be an unusual stone.

Sources:

https://www.mindat.org/min-40647.html

https://www.mindat.org/min-3294.html

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/proustite-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/mellite-jewelry-and-gemstone-information/

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