VABANITE :

Variety of brownish red jasper avec yellow spots from California .

VALENCIANITE :

Name given to adularia from the silver mines of Valencia, Mexico .

VARISCITE :

Etym. From the Latin variscia = Voigtland in Saxony, Germany .

Al(PO₄). 2H₂O

Physical and optical properties :

Colours : apple green to grey green, green-blue, blue, yellow ; with brownish matrix .

Transparency : translucent to opaque

Lustre : waxy

Hardness : 3.5 to 5

Density : 2.42 to 2.60

R.I. : 1.560 – 1.590 (+0.003 –0.006)

Birefringence : 0.030

Biaxial negative

System : orthorhombic

VASHEGYITE :

Mineral having the appearance of variscite ;

it can be bolivarite or evansite .

bolivarite : Al₂[(OH)₃. PO₄)].5H₂0

evansite : A1₃[(OH)6.PO4)]. 6H20

Hardness : 2 to 3

Density : 1.96

R.I. : average : 1.50

VENTURINA :

Spanish name designating aventurine quartz .

VERD-ANTIQUE :

Synonym : verde antique or marble verd-antique.

In the trade wrongly designated as a variety of serpentine .

Actually a rock ( a mixture of marble and serpentine, of white colour with green spots; a rock of calcite-serpentine or dolomite-serpentine composition), clouded or veined, mostly with white or paler green calcite or other calcite minerals like dolomite and magnesite.
Hardness : 3
S.G. : 2.90
R.I. average : 1.58

VERDELITE :

Variety of tourmaline .

VERDITE :

Etym. the French word (vert) for green

Variety of compact impure fuchsite (green mica), sometimes resembling to certain jades, and used as an ornamental stone.

VERIDINE :

Etym. from virus = very lively

Variety of green chiastolite .

VERMEIL :

Name given to certain garnets of orange-red colour, or sometimes brownish-red,

equally used to designate an orange-red zircon or spinel .

(ORIENTAL) VERMEILLE :

Prohibited appellation for a brownish red corundum .

VERMEILLE GARNET :

Appellation for a brillant red garnet .

VERT ANTIQUE :

French for verd-antique .

VERT DE MONTAGNE :

French synonym for malachite 

VESTAN or VESTANE :

An old name for quartz

VESUVIAN :

A German synonym for idocrase .

VESUVIANITE :

Synonym for idocrase

A Prohibited Appellation : when used as the commercial name vesuvian garnet (= leucite).

VESUVIENNE :

French Synonym or variety of idocrase, of brown or yellow-green colour .

VIANDITE :

Variety of opal

VICTORITE :

Variety of meteoritic enstatite .

VIDRITE :

Synonym opal .

VIGORITE :

Variety of bakelite

VILUITE :

Synonym of wiluite

VIOLANE :

Variety of diopside from San Marcello, Val d’Aoste ( Italy) ; of blue-violet colour

- Hardness : 6

- Density : 3.23

- R.I. : average : 1.69

VIOLITE :

Commercial name for a violet artificial corundum .

VIOLLETTE :

Fench name given to a chalcedony of lilac colour

VIOLUN :

Variety of blue-violet diopside

VIRIDINE :

Variety of manganiferous andalousite strongly dichroic of grass green colour

- R.I. : 1.66 – 1.69

VIVIANITE :

Etym. : dedicated to M. Vivian

Fe₃(PO₄)2. 8H₂O

Physical and optical properties :

Colours : in reality colourless but under the light : blue, blue-green, blue-indigo, green

Transparency : Transparent to translucent

Lustre : pearly, slightly waxy

Hardness : 1.5 to 2

Density : 2.53 to 2.68

R.I. : 1.560 (+0.022) – 1.635 (+0.005 –0.006)

  or 1.574(+0.008 – 0.014) – 1.640 (-0.011)

  or 1.85 (-0.025) – 1.639 (+0.001 – 0.014)

Birefringence : 0.075 (0.050 to 0.075)

            or 0.066 (0.050 to 0.075)

            or 0.054 (0.050 to 0.075)

Cleavage : parfait

System : monoclinic

VOGESITE :

Synonym for pyrope

VONTTALITE :

Variety of jade

VORAULITE :

Synonym for lazulite

VOROBIERITE :

Variety of pink to pale pink Beryl from  the Urals and Madagascar (source Shipley)

VULCANITE :

Crude rubber heat-treated with sulphur

Density : 1.15 to 1.20

VULPINITE :

Granulated anhydrite, from Vulpino (Italy) where it is used to make objects ornamental .