Andesine occurs in various colors, from red and honey-red to orange, yellow, champagne, and green. The semi-precious gemstone often shows greenish hints and a faint metallic shiller (or labradorescence). Some are even color-changing, displaying different hues under different types of lighting.

All plagioclase feldspars are composed of albite (sodium aluminum silicate) and anorthite (calcium aluminum silicate) in varying compositions. Other plagioclase minerals include bytownite, moonstone, oligoclase, and spectrolite, among others.

Andesine has a ratio of 30 to 50 percent anorthite to 50 to 70 percent albite, so some mineralogists classify it as an albite variety.

In terms of habits, andesine rarely forms as crystals; when it does, they’re usually small. Andesine crystals often display Albite, Pericline, and Carlsbad twinning. Usually, andesine is found in granular or massive habits.

Here’s an overview of andesine’s mineral traits:

• Chemical formula: (Na,Ca)[Al(Si,Al)Si2O8]

• Mohs hardness: 6 to 6.5

• Color: White, gray, green, yellow, red, orange, pink, champagne, golden

• Crystal structure: Triclinic

• Luster: Sub-vitreous or pearly

• Transparency: Transparent to opaque

• Refractive index: 1.56 to 1.57; Increases with higher calcium content

• Density: 2.66 to 2.68; Increases with higher calcium content

• Cleavage: Perfect on {001}, good/distinct on {010}

• Fracture: Subconchoidal or irregular/uneven

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Fluorescence (weak); Red, blue, pink, yellow, or yellowish-brown in SW-UV, violet in MW-UV, and yellowish-white, orange, or orange-red in LW-UV

• Birefringence: 0.009

• Pleochroism: None

• Dispersion: Weak to none

• Optical effects: Sometimes color-changing

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