SPALMANDITE :

Garnet of a composition intermediate between spessartite and andradite .

SPARGELSTEIN :

German name for apatite (asperagus stone ) .

SPARKLITE :

Name used in the U.S.A. for a colourless zircon having a lot of fire .

SPATH ADAMANTIN :

French term; Prohibited Appellation for a corundum

SPATH BLUE :

French term; Prohibited Appellation for a lazulite .

SPATH FLUOR :

French term ; synonym for fluorite .

SPATH D'ISLANDE :

French term ; variety of calcite ; extremely pure and transparent .

SPATH LABRADOR :

French term ; Prohibited Appellation for a labradorite .

SPATH MANGANESIEN :

French term ; Prohibited Appellation for a rhodonite ; sometimes equally used to designate a rhodocrosite .

SPATH SAPHIR :

French term ; Prohibited Appellation for a variety of disthene with opalescent effect or a girasol .

SPATH SATIN :

French term ; Prohibited Appellation; variety of gypsum or fibrous white or pink calcite .

SPATH GREEN :

French term ; Prohibited Appellation for an amazonite .

SPATH ZINC :

French term ; Prohibited Appellation synonym for smithsonite .

SPECKSTEIN :

German Synonym for steatite .

SPECTACLE STONE :

Name populaire English for sélénite term vieilli

SPECTROLITE :

Variety of labradorite found in Finland ;

the colours of the spectrum are often visible in these stones cut as cabochons .

SPECULUM :

Medieval name for a ball in rock crystal (or of glass) used for divination purposes .

SPESSARTINE :

Synonym for spessartite .

SPESSARTITE :

Alumino-manganesium Garnet .

Mn3Al2(SiO4)3 

Physical and optical properties :

- Colour : yellow orange to golden brown, red-orange, brown-orange

-Transparency : transparent

- Lustre : vitreous

- Hardness : 7 to 7.5

- Density : 3.7 to 4.2

- R.I. : 1.79 to 1.82

- Dispersion : 0.015

- System : cubic

SPHAERODIALOGITE :

Synonym for rhodocrosite .

SPHALERITE or BLENDE :

Etym. From the Greek " sphaleros " = to fool

ZnS

Physical and optical properties :

Colour : yellow to brown-yellow to almost black, greenish yellow, orange, yellowish red

Transparency : transparent to opaque

Lustre : almost adamantine

Hardness : 3.5 to 4

Density : 3.9 to 4.1

R.I. : 2.369 to 2.371

Dispersion : 0.088

System : cubic

SPHENE :

Mineralogical name for Titanite .

SPINACH JADE :

English Term to designate a green dark nephrite .

SPINELITE :

Synonym for spinel .

SPINELLANE :

Synonym de noselite

SPINEL :

Etym.: from the Greek Spinos = sparkle

      From the Latin Spina = thorn

MgA1204 

Physical and optical properties :

Colour : colourless (rare) , carmine red, pink-red (rubicelle) , red-brown (hyacinth) ,

             violet, blue (sapphirine or candite) , green ( chlorospinel  ou picotine) , black

             ( ferropicotite , picotite, pleonaste or ceylanite ) red brown to wine red ( ceylonite)

Transparency : transparent

Lustre : vitreous

Hardness : 8

Density : 3.53 to 4.08 (red = 3.58)

R.I. : 1.718 (+0.044 –0.006)

   blue and green : up to 1.732

   red : up to 1.762

Dispersion : 0.011

System : cubic

(ALMANDINE) SPINEL :

Prohibited Appellation for a violet to violet reddish spinel .

SPINEL from ARIZONA :

Prohibited Appellation for a dark red pyrope garnet from Arizona or from Utah .

(BLUE) SPINEL :

Prohibited Appellation for haüyne .

(CANDY) SPINEL :

Prohibited Appellation for a garnet from Sri Lanka .

SPINELLE CHROMIFERE :

French for chrome spinel .

Transparent to opaque spinel with a greenish to dark brownish yellow colour .

Density : 4.1

SPINELLE CHRYSOLITE :

French name ; Prohibited Appellation for a spinel with a greenish yellow or green-yellowish colour.

SPINELLE HYACINTHE :

French name ;  Prohibited Appellation for a spinel de colour brown red-orangé; il faut dire " spinel colour hyacinthe " .

(SPINEL) RUBY :

Prohibited Appellation for a red spinel . 

(ZINC) SPINEL:

Synonym for gahnite .

SPINELLINE :

Synonym de sphene ( Chester )

SPINTHERE :

Variety of  green titanite .

SPODUMENE :

Etym. from the Greek: spodumenos = ash stone, of whitish grey colour

LiAl(Si03)2 

Physical and optical properties :

Colour : emerald green and light green ( hiddenite ), lila pink ( kunzite ), yellow, colourless

            greyish

Transparency : transparent

Lustre : vitreous

Hardness : 6.5 to 7

Density : 3.16 – 3.20

R.I. : 1.660 – 1.676 (±0.005)

Birefringence : 0.014 to 0.016

Dispersion : 0.010

Biaxial positive

Trichroism : distinct : hiddenite : bluish green, emerald green, yellow green

                              kunzite : violet, pale red, colourless

Cleavage : perfect prismatic

System : monoclinic

SPODUMENE-AMETHYST :

Erroneous  Appellation for a kunzite .

SPODUMENE-EMERALD :

Erroneous Appellation for a hiddenite .

SPODUMENSMARAGD :

German Erroneous Appellation for a hiddenite .

STACHELBEERSTEIN :

German term for a grossular garnet .

STANGENSCHORL :

German term for a tourmaline .

STANGELSCHORL :

German term for a topaz .

(WEISSER) STANGENSTEIN :

German term for a white topaz .

STANNIOLITHE :

Synonym for cassiterite .

STANZAITE :

Variety d'andalousite

STANTINITE ( or STANTINEITE ) :

Fossil resin ; colour : black, brilliant or dull .

STARILIAN :

Commercial name given to strontium titanate .

STARLITE :

Name given by the Americans to a blue zircon (heat-treated) .

STAROLITE :

Name given in the U.S.A. to an asteriated quartz with a cloudy appearance or equally a commercial name for a blue or black doublet showing a star effect .

STAR RUBY :

Ruby showing a moving star with six and sometimes twelve rays caused by the reflection of the light on oriented inclusions of rutile, when the stone is cut as a cabochon.

STAR SAPPHIRE :

Sapphire showing a moving star with six and sometimes twelve rays caused by the reflection of the light on oriented inclusions of rutile, when the stone is cut as a cabochon.

STAUROLITE :

Etym. : from the Greek ‘stauros’ = cross and ‘lithos’ = stone

Synonym ‘cross stone’ : the crystals are twinned in a cross, therefore the name .

FeAl4(SiO4)O2(OH)2  

Physical and optical properties :

Colour : dark reddish or yellowish brown

Transparency : opaque

Lustre : waxy

Hardness : 7 to 7.5

Density : 3.6 to 3.8

R.I. : 1.741(-0.005) – 1.752(+0.041)

Birefringence : 0.011 to 0.015

System : monoclinic

STAUROTITE or STAUROTIDE

Synonym for staurolite .

STEALITE :

Etym. : from the Greek ‘stear’ = greasy and lithos = stone

Synonym for chiastolite .

STEARITE :

Synonym for steatite .

STEATITE :

Synonym : soapstone , ( pierre de savon = French)

Name given to a variety of compact talc .

3MgO.4SiO2.H20  

Physical and optical properties

Colour : green, brown, grey, whitish

Transparency : translucent to opaque

Lustre : greasy

Hardness : 1 to 1.5

Density : 2.55 to 2.80

R.I. : 1.54 – 1.59

Birefringence : 0.050

Biaxial negative

System : monoclinic (or orthorhombic)

STEINHEILITE :

Synonym for cordierite, named after the Russian governor in Finland : Steinheil .

STIBIOTANTALITE :

Sb(TaNb)O4

Physical and optical properties :

Colour : yellow pale, yellow brownish to yellow olive with red-brown spots

Transparency : transparent to translucent

Lustre : vitreous

Hardness : 5 to 5.5

Density : 7.3 to 7.9

R.I. : 2.370 – 2.458

Birefringence : strong : 0.088

System : orthorhombic

STIGMITE :

Variety of agate .

STILBITE :

or synonym : Desmine

Etym. : from the Greek ‘stilbi’ : appearance, and ‘desme’ = bunch (of grapes)

It is a zeolite crystallising in the form of a bunch wheat helms

NaCa2Al5Si13O36.14H2O

Physical and optical properties :

Colour : white, pearly grey, yellow brown or red-orange

Transparency : transparent to opaque

Lustre : vitreous

Hardness : 3.5 to 4

Density : 2.1 to 2.2

System :monoclinic

STILLOLITE :

Variety of opal .

STRAHLKIES :

German name for marcassite .

STRAHLSTEIN :

German name for chlorastrolite ( or actinolite ) .

STRALITE :

Synonym of actinolite or epidote .

STRASS :

Etym. : after the inventor : the Viennese Joseph Strasser, in the 18th century ;

imitation made from a glass rich in potassium and lead silicate and having a silver foil attached to the bottom of the stone .

STRASS-DIAMANT :

Prohibited Appellation for a strass stone .

STROMITE :

Synonym for rhodocrosite .

STRONTIANITE :

Strontium carbonate of pale green colour or grey up to brown ; system : orthorhombic

STYRIAN JADE :

English erroneously name given to pseudophite .

STYRINE :

Plastic ; transparent ; having a refraction index and dispersion comparatively quite high

R.I. : 1,59

SUCCIN :

Synonym for amber ; name used until the 19th century.

Etym. : from the Latin ‘succinum’ itself derived from ‘succus’ (=juice) referring to its origin

SUCCINITE :

Variety of grossular garnet of yellow amber colour therefore its name. The appellation should be : succinite garnet.

Equally used as a synonym for amber .

SUNGULITE :

Variety of serpentine .

SULPHUR DIAMOND :

Prohibited appellation for de la pyrite

SUNSTONE:

Variety of feldspath, also called aventurine feldspath, See aventurine.

(ORIENTAL) SUNSTONE :

Prohibited Appellation for a girasol corundum, reddish or yellowish in colour.

SWISS JASPER :
Variety of vivid red jasper rouge, having small portions of clear quartz.

SWISS LAPIS :

Blue Chalcedony or blue tinted jasper to imitate lapis lazuli .

SYMANT :

Commercial name for a fabulite .

SYMERALD :

Commercial name for emerita .

SYNTHETIC RUBY :

Artificial ruby made by man having the same structure and the same chemical composition .

SYNTHETIC RUTILE:

See titania .

SYNTHOLITE :

Commercial name for an artificial synthetic sapphire , with alexandrite effect, green under daylight, violet artificial light .

SZASKAITE :

Variety of smithsonite .

 

  

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