DVH 29ct Rare Mohawkite Cabochon Michigan Copper Ore Quartz 37x20x4 (4976)
I hand cut this cabochon with a really rare gemstone material called "Mohawkite" from the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's copper country. It is a mixture of silver colored native metal mineral, mostly copper ores and quartz. VERY RARE! Compare with other pieces for sale online. Measurements in the title. This material does oxidize quickly but the shiny silver finish can be quickly returned with a simple rub with a polishing cloth. I do NOT put a layer of acrylic over my natural metal mineral cabochons to prevent tarnishing as some dealers do as I feel that a plastic sealant ruins the experience of the stone. See ALL my work with custom cut focal beads, cabochons, druzys, mourning jewelry, fordite, chains, and much more in my DVHdesigns store.
Here's a video showing this cab and the two others I made from the same slabe. If you don't see them here in the store with a search for Mohawkite then it has already sold!
Here's some information from the online encyclopedia about it.... "Mohawkite is a rare rock consisting of mixtures of arsenic , silver, nickel, skutterudite and copper, with the formula Cu3As up to Cu6As, and the most desirable material was usually found in white quartz matrix. It has a hardness of 3-3.5 and a metallic luster. It is named after the Mohawk mine where it was originally found. Colors range from brassy-yellow to metallic gray, and sometimes will have a blue or greenish surface tarnish. These colors come from its two main ingredients, the arsenic-rich copper minerals algodonite and domeykite. Its color may resemble pyrrhotite, but unlike pyrrhotite, mohawkite is not magnetic. Mohawkite is believed to be found only in a copper mine located on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, known as the Mohawk Mine. The Mohawk Mine is where mohawkite was first discovered, in January 1900, near No. 1 shaft when a fissure vein of copper ore was cut. Specimens of this ore were sent to George A Koenig, of the Michigan College of Mines (now known as Michigan Technological University) for analysis. The ore was believed to be an entirely new mineral and was named mohawkite by Koenig. A reanalysis of the material in 1971 found it to be an intimate mixture of copper and nickel arsenides and the mohawkite name was discredited as a mineral species."
Here's a video showing this cab and the two others I made from the same slabe. If you don't see them here in the store with a search for Mohawkite then it has already sold!
Here's some information from the online encyclopedia about it.... "Mohawkite is a rare rock consisting of mixtures of arsenic , silver, nickel, skutterudite and copper, with the formula Cu3As up to Cu6As, and the most desirable material was usually found in white quartz matrix. It has a hardness of 3-3.5 and a metallic luster. It is named after the Mohawk mine where it was originally found. Colors range from brassy-yellow to metallic gray, and sometimes will have a blue or greenish surface tarnish. These colors come from its two main ingredients, the arsenic-rich copper minerals algodonite and domeykite. Its color may resemble pyrrhotite, but unlike pyrrhotite, mohawkite is not magnetic. Mohawkite is believed to be found only in a copper mine located on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, known as the Mohawk Mine. The Mohawk Mine is where mohawkite was first discovered, in January 1900, near No. 1 shaft when a fissure vein of copper ore was cut. Specimens of this ore were sent to George A Koenig, of the Michigan College of Mines (now known as Michigan Technological University) for analysis. The ore was believed to be an entirely new mineral and was named mohawkite by Koenig. A reanalysis of the material in 1971 found it to be an intimate mixture of copper and nickel arsenides and the mohawkite name was discredited as a mineral species."
