Dioptase

This beautiful stone holds a deep emerald green colour that is dazzling. Its name comes from two Greek words, dia meaning 'through' and optasis meaning "vision". The first known deposits were brought to Kazakhstan from Siberia in 1870. Originally it was thought to have been an emerald variety and was named achrite. Its low hardness made is less valuable than an emerald and so it became known as an "emerald for the poor". In 1801 however, a French minerologist discovered that it was a completely new mineral and named it Dioptase. Keywords: openess, prosperity, health and compassion.