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Hiddente
This is the green variety of spodumene, which
has only been known for about a century and is named after
A.E. Hidden, a mine-owner in the United States, where the
mineral was first discovered. Some people nowadays maintain
that the name hiddenite refers only to the emerald green or
rich green variety of spodumene, whereas others apply this
name to all gem-quality green spodumene, including pale and
yellowish-green specimens; this seems the most practical definition.
Appearance The best, and very rare, specimens
are a bright, almost emerald green, with quite strong green
to blue-green pleochroism; but hiddenite may be a rather dull,
pale green or even green with a yellowish tinge. The step
cut is the most common. Strongly colored stones are usually
small to medium-sized; paler specimens are often a bit bigger,
but never as large as kunzite.
Distinctive features It is hard to generalize
about a gem of such rarity and diverse appearance. Depending
on the specimen, hiddenite may resemble both pale and strongcolored
emeralds, bright green and yellowish tourmalines, chrysoberyl,
and diopside. The physical characteristics always have to
be measured in order to identify it.
Occurrence The finest gems
used to come from North Carolina. The less attractive, paler
types, perhaps with a yellowish tinge, come from California,
Brazil, and Madagascar.
Value Its attractive color, rarity, and the
difficulty of finding reasonable-sized stones make intensely
colored hiddenite one of the most valuable secondary gems.
Paler-colored specimens, which are easier to find in a good
size, are of quite low value, similar to that of kunzite.
Simulants and synthetics Being
little known and of recent history, hiddenite is not imitated.
Nor is it produced synthetically, at any rate not on a commercial
scale. Yet large stones, in which the medium-light green color
is due to some form of treatment (probably irradiation) of
very pale or colorless stones, or even very pale kunzite,
do appear on the market from time to time.
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