Chemistry: Decomposition product of plagioclase feldspar (mainly albite and zoisite).
Crystal system: Rock; massive.
Color: Opaque; often green variegated; whitish, grey green, yellow green, bluish green.
Hardness: 6.5
Cleavage: -
Specific gravity: 3.0 – 3.4 (may be as low as 2.8 if little zoisite present)
Refractive index: 1.70 (to as low as 1.57; variable; mean reading)
Luster: -
Dispersion: -
Dichroism: -
Occurrence: Mineral aggregate formed as hydrothermal alteration product of plagioclase feldspar; named after the Swiss explorer Horace Benedict de Saussure, who discovered it on the slopes of Mont Blanc.
Notes
May look like jadeite, nephrite or zoisite; cabochon, carvings.
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