StarGemstones.com | Star Diopside | Magical Gems that display Asterism

General Information

Star Diopside can be found as a beautiful deep green or black, which when polished has a reflective star on the surface. Like other star gemstones, it is cut into round or oval cabochons which are generally biconvex with a roughly shaped, unpolished base. Generally, Star Diopside has four rays - two of which are straight, while the other two, not at right angles to the first pair, look slightly wavy. Star Diopside has only binary symmetry, and the star has four rays, rather than six like other star stones. Very often the gem contains traces of magnetite and it is easily attracted by a magnet.

A Star Diopside cut into a round cabochon

Identifying a Star Diopside

Star Diopsides are opaque and glossy black with a four-ray star. They are quite similar in appearance to black star sapphires (which has a six-rayed star).

Treatments & Synthetics

Star Diopside are not known to be treated. Also there are no known Synthetics.

Occurrence of Star Diopside

Though Diopside normally comes from Myanmar (Burma), Russia, Pakistan, South Africa, Austria, Brazil, Italy, North America, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Finland, Star Diopside comes mainly from India.

Star Diopside Beliefs

Black Star Diopside is a very creative stone and can bring creativity to the bearer. It can also help with analysis and logic as an assistant to learning. It is also said to be related to love, commitment, and the inner heart. It is traditionally said to be helpful for healing trauma, partly by bringing cleansing tears. Sometimes it's even called the "crying stone" because of this. It can help get in touch with the feminine side, which can help heal aggression and stubbornness. Physically it's used to heal the heart, lungs, circulation, weakness, and psychological disorders.

General Characteristics of Diopside:

Crystal Structure	Monoclinic
Composition	CaMg (Si2O6)
Mohs Scale Hardness	5.5
Refractive Index	1.675-1.701
Luster	Vitreous
Optic Character	B+
Birefringence	026
Specific gravity	3.29 + -

Some More Pictures:


Black Star Diopside with a blue star	Star Diopside mounted in a silver pendant

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