Dioptase - Specimen

Locality: Renéville Mine, Kindamba District, Pool Department, Republic of the Congo

Description: Congo's dioptase has a long history in European collections. The mineral was first noted from "Gabon" in 1874. In 1890, crystals brought back by the explorer Thollon from the Mindouli mine, between Bouenza and Brazzaville, went on display at the Paris natural history museum, where they were said to rival the classic dioptase of Siberia.

Renéville, in the Kindamba District of the Pool Department of the Republic of the Congo, takes its name from René Petit-Jean, who directed the first mining work there for the Compagnie du Djoué around 1913. Its copper and lead ores are also the type locality of a rare mineral, fornacite.

Dioptase is a hydrated copper silicate. It forms near the surface, where weathering copper ores release copper that combines with silica, and the copper gives it its intense green colour.

This one of a kind dioptase specimen has a tall, upright shape with dense crystal coverage across nearly the entire face. The color is a deep blue-green to rich emerald tone, with darker areas that appear almost black until the light hits them and reveals the saturated copper-rich color underneath. Several larger, more prominent crystals project outward from the surface, while smaller intergrown crystals fill in the rest of the piece, giving it a compact but highly textured look. The overall structure feels dramatic and vertical, making it a strong display specimen with a natural sculptural presence.

Dioptase is often associated with truth, renewal, and emotional clearing. Many people are drawn to it when they want to let go of old weight and move forward with greater clarity. Its intense but grounded presence gives it a reputation as a stone connected with honesty, insight, and steady inner change.

Chemical Composition: CuSiO3·H2O

With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.