Zircon
Species
Uncommon · ZrSiO₄
One of the oldest minerals on Earth: a grain from the Jack Hills of Western Australia is 4.4 billion years old. Contains trace uranium and thorium, allowing precise radiometric dating. Its high refractive index and strong dispersion give faceted stones exceptional brilliance and fire.
Identity
- Formula
- ZrSiO₄
- Chemical class
- Silicate
- Also known as
- Hyacinth (red-orange variety), Jargon (yellow-gray variety)
- Used in alchemy
- Zircon Powder
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Tetragonal
- Habits
- Prismatic, Pyramidal
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 7.5
- Density
- 4.7 g/cm³
- Luster
- Adamantine, Vitreous
- Colors
- colorless, red, orange, yellow, brown, blue, green
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent
Geology
- Origins
- Igneous, Metamorphic, Sedimentary
- Host rocks
- Granite, Schist and gneiss
- Associated minerals
- feldspar, Quartz, Mica, amphibole
- Found in
- Pegmatite deposit, Placer deposit
- Geography
- Australia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam
Classification
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Gem quality
- Yes
Arcane properties
- Affinity
- Time, Arcane
- Effects
- Time, Scrying
- Planar origin
- Material Plane
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Zircon. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Zircon. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- Zircon. Gemdat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- Zircon Description. Gemological Institute of America, Gem Encyclopedia.
- S. A. Wilde, J. W. Valley, W. H. Peck, C. M. Graham, Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago. Nature, 409, 175-178, 2001.
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