Hambergite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

Does Hambergite Make a Good Jewelry Stone?

Hambergite's relatively high hardness (7.5) exceeds that of quartz. It would make an excellent jewelry stone, but its cleavage can make faceting these stones difficult. As a result, you'll more likely find hambergites in mineral collections than jewelry collections.

Identifying Hambergite

Birefringence

Hambergite has the lowest known specific gravity of any gem with such high birefringence. As a result, larger size stones will show significant birefringent effects without much additional weight. Although hambergites have little fire and may resemble quartz gems, they have much higher birefringence than similar-appearing gemstones.

Clarity

Usually, cut stones are not clean but filled with cleavage traces.

Luminescence

Stones from Norway sometimes show weak, pink-orange luminescence in longwave ultraviolet light.

Are There Synthetic Hambergites?

There are no known synthetic hambergites or enhancements for these gemstones.

Where are Hambergites Found?

Anjanabanoana, Madagascar produces large, gemmy crystals.

Other significant sources of crystals include the following:

• Afghanistan; Ramona, California; Czech Republic; India; Langesundsfjord, Norway; Pakistan; Tajikistan.

Stone Sizes

Hambergite is a fairly rare mineral, and material transparent enough to facet is rarer still. In 1968, a dealer offered a white stone of 28.86 carats. Nevertheless, cut gems over 5 carats are very rare.

• Private collections: 40.20 (largest reported); also 7.6, 5.93.

How to Care for Hambergite Gemstones

Hambergites require no special care. For general information on caring for gemstone jewelry, consult our gemstone jewelry cleaning guide for more recommendations.