THE GEMSTONE DIASPORE

Diaspore gemstones are remarkable for their color-changing habit. In daylight or fluorescent lighting, its color is a light yellowish-green to light olive green. In incandescent or candlelight its color changes to light pinkish-orange or raspberry-red color. Diaspore can also show both color combinations in mixed lighting conditions.

Diaspore as a mineral has been around since its discovery as a species in 1801, but it wasn't until the 1970's that this mineral was first faceted for gemstone use. From the 1970's through 2005 occasional gems were cut from Diaspore for collectors, but in 2006 this mineral started being mined specifically for gemstone use. Though Diaspore is found in several localities throughout the world, the only source of gemstone material is in a Bauxite deposit in the Anatolian Mountains of central Turkey. Originally exploited for its economic importance for the extraction of aluminum, this deposit is now solely mined for the production of this gemstone.