Olivine Stone. Origin, properties and uses

The Olivine stone,is part of the main component of the earth's mantle and therefore, is present in most of the earth's crust

It is composed of magnesium and iron, corresponds to the group of silicates and owes the name to its characteristic greenish hue, which can vary depending on its chemical composition.

History and origin

The origin of this mineral dates back to the years 1,500 BC.C approximately, where its gem-shaped crystal structure was commonly known as "peridom" and this is quite present in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, where history specialists used to relate it a lot to the jewels of the pharaohs and kings of those times , especially with Cleopatra.

Thanks to its variety of shades they used to be classified as different minerals, in addition, depending on the culture they could be called in different ways, an example of this is the variant that the Egyptians knew with the name of "golden stone" or "sunstone", which has a yellowish hue and becomes very bright when it comes into direct contact with sunlight.

Its brightness represented a great advantage for the expeditionists and workers who went in search of it, since it facilitated its identification and collection. On the other hand, the olive blossom was considered a precious stone and of great value in the Greek regions, since it belonged to the jewelry of royalty and its possession was quite protected, so much so that the theft of one of these pieces, had as punishment death.

After having passed several centuries, the olivina was seen with less presence each time by the expeditionists, and even there were no sightings of any site for a long period of time, until it was found again around the year 1905.

In culture, mythology and religion it has a lot of presence and different meanings at the same time, it even has its own legend that relates its origin in one of the Canary Islands, known as Lanzarote. On the other hand, it also depicts the pain of the goddess of fire in Hawaiian mythology and in the Bible they are part of the armor of Aaron, who was the brother of Moses.

Composition and characteristics

The chemical composition belonging to this mineral is (Mg, Fe) 2SiO4, mainly composed of a tissue of atoms that are called silicates, on which magnesium and iron are disposed in smaller quantities. This seemingly simple composition gives us a greenish and very bright gem, the latter is mainly due to the existence of nickel.

However, the main characteristics that belong to this mineral are the following:

• Its greenish can vary from shades, from dark to yellowish tones, and even dark brown or reddish. In this way, a composition rich in iron forms brown tones, while a predominant composition of magnesium tends to greenish tones.

• This differs from many precious minerals by the simple fact that they form in the mantle and not in the Earth's crust, so that they can only be found several kilometers below the Earth's surface.

• When magma takes a temperate temperature and crystals begin to form, the mineral olivine is the first to perform this process.

• It has been found that this mineral is also part of the rock formation of other planets.

Properties of olivine

Curiously this is a material that contains mystical and spiritual energies that are very positive, offering fortune and harmony to anyone who wears it in any garment. There are many properties of olivine and range from the spiritual aspect, to the mental and physiological, below we will mention some:

• Reduces stress.

• Increases confidence and self-esteem.

• Brings harmony to life.

• It gives insight to its wearer.

• Brings success to romantic relationships.

• It gives courage so that people can deal with their fears.

• Contributes to quality and hours of sleep.

• Appeases any evil of heart and mind.

• Blocks harmful feelings and bad energies.

• Avoid pain at night.

• Ward off evil spirits.

• Helps to eliminate toxins from the body and favors the appearance of the skin.

• It brings vitality and energy to the body.

• Helps fat loss.

• Promotes a good functioning of the blood system.

Uses of Olivine

This precious mineral can be found all over the world, although enough must be excavated to find it, but the advantage is that there are materials that easily allow its formation. On the other hand, if it is necessary to highlight that there are specific regions in which the most important deposits of this olivine are located, which are exploited so that the mineral is used in different uses.

Some of these deposits can be found in certain places in the United States, such as in the state of Arizona, or also in Germany, Norway, China, Tanzania and others. Lately some sites located in Spain have become famous, more specifically in Tenerife, Zaragoza, Murcia and others, however, these are not so abundant.

On the other hand, many experts have positioned Egypt as the whereabouts with the most important site of olive, where the crystals have impressive sizes. However, the most prominent uses that are usually given to olivine, are the following:

• Jewelry and jewelry in olivine: We already mentioned that both in antiquity and in the current era, olivine is a mineral that is widely used and well valued in the area of jewelry, to be implemented as gems in garments. Here you can discover a unique collection in >> Canarian jewelry in olivine and silver

• Industrial abrasive: It is a little less common to see, but it is well known that liquid olive is used to maintain facades of compressed air or in metal structures.

• Manufacture of articles:It is also used in the manufacture of elements of common use, such as glass refractories that are usually seen in kitchens, although they can have a high price when they are made with a precious mineral.