Celestine, a Naturally-Faceted Gem

     Some of my favorite minerals to write about are the ones that I have found while rock hunting. On a rock-hunting trip (rockhounds call these “field-trips”) I found a mass of blue crystals. At first I thought that I had simply found a sample of calcite, but after I conducted a little more research I learned that they were probably crystals of a mineral known as celestine.
     Celestine is a mineral that is composed of the elements strontium, sulfur, and oxygen. The mineral is often found in limestone, evaporate deposits, or with other minerals such as galena and sphalerite. Celestine is transparent and is usually colorless, milky white, brown, pale blue, or yellow. The appearance of celestine’s crystals are difficult to describe simply because of their marvelous shape. They are flat prisms that look as if they have already been faceted as gemstones. The prisms have two faces that meet in a peak like the blade of a broadsword, and two like faces on the sides. These prisms look like chisels on the ends. Like I said, they are a little hard to describe.
     Celestine is used as a source of the metal strontium, the compounds of which are used in the refining process of sugar beets and for making devices such as flares, as some strontium compounds burn with a crimson red flame. Celestine is not used as a gemstone because it is very soft and will scratch during everyday ware, but if it was hard enough to use as a gemstone its crystals are so beautiful in their own right that we might not even have to cut them!
     The specimen that I found came from a rock-hunting park near Toledo, Ohio. Other sources of celestine include: England, Italy, Madagascar, Namibia, Canada, Turkmenistan, and California.
     Celestine is one of the best finds that I have made on a rock hunt. Once I brought my sample home it was a challenge to identify it, but as a result my mineral-identification skills have improved. I am thankful that the Lord allowed me to find celestine, a naturally-faceted gem.