Magnesite Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Magnesite is a soft mineral best known for being dyed to imitate other gemstones. Natural magnesite stones are usually white with a dark web-like pattern.

Is magnesite rare or common? As a mineral, magnesite is pretty common, but gem-quality crystals are scarce, making faceted magnesite gemstones quite rare.

However, the stone has a long history of being carved into beautiful sculptures and jewelry.

Come along as we explore magnesite’s properties, meaning, prices, and benefits!

What Is A Magnesite Gemstone?

Magnesite is a semi-precious gemstone with a few monikers:

• Baldissérite / Bandisserite / Baudisserite

• Carbonate of Magnesia

• Giobertite

• Magnesianite

• Roubschite

• Bitter Spar

• Rhombohedral Carbonate

This mineral is porous, so it’s easy to dye. It’s often dyed blue to imitate turquoise, sometimes called “magnesite turquoise,” making magnesite an alternative December birthstone. Magnesite can also be dyed to imitate seraphinite, coral, lapis lazuli, and sugilite.

Howlite shares a resemblance to magnesite and is similarly dyed to imitate turquoise or seraphinite. The primary difference between magnesite vs howlite is that howlite has a different composition (Ca2B5SiO9(OH)5), lower density, and lower Mohs hardness.

Another potential confusion is magnesite vs magnetite. Magnetite is much darker with a metallic luster. Both are valuable industrially, though.

What is magnesite used for?

Magnesite Uses

Magnesite’s industrial value comes from the abundance of magnesium in its composition. Heating the stone can produce magnesium oxide, which is behind some of its uses below:

• Magnesium metal

• Epsom salts

• White firework colors

• Refractory (heat-resistant) bricks & cements

• Flooring binder (“magnesite screed”)

• Filler & catalyst for synthetic rubber

• Fertilizer

Magnesite Specifications & Characteristics

As a magnesium carbonate mineral, magnesite’s formula is MgCO3. Common impurities are iron, calcium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel. These impurities often make magnesite milky-looking.

The stone’s strong birefringence and birefringence “blink” across the 1.509 to 1.700 range is also notable, as it can create facet-doubling and a fuzzy look on faceted gems.

Magnesite belongs to the calcite mineral group alongside minerals like siderite, rhodochrosite, gaspeite, smithsonite, and of course, calcite.

In fact, magnesite is almost identical to calcite, just with magnesium instead of calcium. Mangesite forms a series with siderite, gaspeite, and smithsonite.

This stone usually occurs in massive form, often with a cryptocrystalline structure like chalcedony. Crystals form as rhombohedrons of hexagonal prisms, but magnesite crystals are very rare.

Here are magnesite’s properties listed:

• Mohs hardness: 3.5-4.5

• Color: White, colorless, gray, yellow, brown, light pink, or lilac-rose

• Crystal structure: Hexagonal (trigonal)

• Luster: Earthy, chalky, dull, or vitreous (glassy)

• Transparency: Transparent to opaque

• Refractive index: 1.509-1.717

• Density: 3.0-3.2

• Cleavage: Perfect 3-direction (rhombohedral)

• Fracture: Conchoidal, granular, or uneven

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Fluorescence sometimes present - blue, green, or white in SW-UV & bluish-white or yellowish-white in LW-UV; Phosphorescent sometimes present - green

• Pleochroism: Present in cobalt-bearing material - violet-red to flesh-red

• Birefringence: 0.191-0.202

• Dispersion: Strong

Pictured above: Detail of a verd antique column in the Church of SS Sergius and Bacchus ("Little Hagia Sophia"), Istanbul, Turkey | Image credit: Valerius Tygart, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Types of Magnesite

There are some types of magnesite you should know:

• Lemon Chrysoprase: Name for yellow-green, nickel-rich magnesite resembling chrysoprase

• Verd Antique: Green gem rock marbled with magnesite, serpentine, calcite, and dolomite

• Prystine / Prystyne: Pure-white magnesite that’s fine-grained and dense, found at Utah-Nevada border

• White Buffalo Stone: Mixture of magnesite and alunite mined in Nevada; Also called “wild horse magnesite” or “crazy horse magnesite”

The name “white buffalo stone” is also used for howlite.

Pictured above: Statue of Idrimi | Image credit: Rama, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 France license

Magnesite Stone Meaning & History

Magnesite can symbolize emotional wellness, imagination, and freedom. Its common white coloring with black veining represents balance, hope, and grounding.

The name “magnesite” likely refers to the high magnesium content.

However, some sources trace it to the Greek magnesia lithos, meaning “magnesian stone” from Magnesia, Greece. Magnesium, discovered in 1755, derives its name from Magnesia.

French mineralogist Jean-Claude Delamétherie first coined the name “magnesite” in 1785. The name applied to many magnesium-rich stones until German mineralogist Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten defined “magnesite” as a distinct mineral in 1808.

As an artistic medium, magnesite goes back thousands of years.

Some examples of ancient magnesite sculptures include:

• Figure of Lioness found near Baghdad (3000-2800 BC)

• Limestone “Seated Scribe” statue with magnesite-inlay on eyes from Saqqara (2325-2620 BC)

• Statue of Idrimi, King of Alalakh (1400-1500 BC)

• Statue of King Ashurnasirpal II from Temple of Ishtar at Nimrud (883-859 BC)

Native Americans have used carved white magnesite beads for jewelry and as currency.

Dying magnesite to imitate turquoise has been practiced for around a century.

Since 1998, scientists have discovered magnesite in meteorites and on Mars.

Now, what are magnesite stones good for spiritually?

Image credit: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0

Magnesite Healing Properties

You can use magnesite as a healing stone for many maladies. Like other white gemstones, white magnesite offers mental clarity and spiritual ascension. Blue magnesite stones join other blue gems in offering serenity, while green magnesite stones encourage personal growth.

As a chakra stone, magnesite opens the crown chakra to bring you to your highest spiritual self.

Physical Healing

The purported physical magnesite stone benefits include treating or helping with:

• Bone and teeth strength

• Magnesium deficiency

• Muscle tension, cramps, and spasms

Emotional Healing

Emotionally, magnesite can be incredibly calming, especially during meditation. Crystal healers recommend it for boosting creativity, visualization, and self-love.

Magnesite Gemstone Properties

The value of magnesite gemstones depends on their color, cut, clarity, transparency, carat weight, and treatments.

Color

Magnesite is allochromatic, meaning any colors outside of white are due to impurities. Beside white or colorless, natural magnesite colors include yellow, brown, gray, and pinkish hues.

Translucent to opaque magnesite stones are often found with darker veining.

Dyed magnesite can be virtually any color.

Cut

Magnesite’s softness and perfect cleavage in three directions makes faceting incredibly tricky, so faceted magnesites are rare. You’ll usually only see them in specialized locations like museums or private collections.

Most often, massive magnesite rough is cut into cabochons, beads, or carvings.

Clarity & Transparency

Magnesite’s clarity (the amount of visible inclusions) is only important for translucent to transparent gemstones. Since transparent magnesite crystals are quite rare, they’re also quite valuable. Visible inclusions can lower the value.

Potential inclusions in magnesite include fluorite, sphalerite, quartz, and fluid inclusions.

The mineral itself is often found as an inclusion in other gems, such as:

• Mica

• Plagioclase feldspar

• Peridot

• Chrysoprase

• Emerald

Impurities and inclusions often give magnesite a milky appearance.

Carat Weight & Size

Most gem-quality magnesite rough is around 10-15 carats. The largest faceted magnesite is a 390-carat gem from Brazil that’s currently held by the Smithsonian.

Treatments

By now, you know that magnesite is often dyed. It’s also commonly stabilized to make it more durable for jewelry use.

You can sometimes identify a dyed magnesite by rubbing it with a Q-tip dipped in acetone, which will remove the dyed layer. However, this is a destructive test.

Any treatments should be disclosed by the seller.

Magnesite Formation & Sources

Magnesite forms in a few different ways. There are four common processes:

1. Talc carbonate metasomatism of magnesium-rich rocks like peridotite or serpentinite (often results in cryptocrystalline magnesite)

2. Metamorphic alteration of carbonate-rich rocks like marble or limestone via magnesium-rich solutions (often results in high-purity magnesite)

3. Carbonic acid in groundwater weathering ultramafic or high-magnesium rocks like dolomite (often results in nodular magnesite)

4. Secondary mineral precipitation in ultramafic or carbonate rocks

The mineral can also form when water, carbon dioxide, high pressure, and high temperatures carbonate olivine.

The strong fluorescent glow under shortwave-UV lights can help miners find magnesite in deep caves.

Mining Locations

Where is magnesite found? Currently, China is the top producer of industrial magnesite. Facetable magnesite crystals are only known from Brazil.

Other gem-quality magnesite sources include:

• Algeria

• Austria

• Italy

• India

• Korea

• Nevada, USA

• Norway

• Poland

• South Korea

• Zaire

So, what is magnesite worth?

Magnesite Stone Price & Value

Magnesite is quite affordable because it’s soft enough to cut easily and quickly, and the rough is easy to acquire.

Industrially, the current magnesite price per ton in America is $1,600 per ton.

White magnesite rough is available for under $1 per carat.

You can find magnesite earrings for around $10-$15. Beaded magnesite strands are available for under $10. Magnesite cabochons are usually under $10 as well.

Magnesite Care and Maintenance

Before we discuss gemstone care, you might wonder: is magnesite toxic? Not exactly, but there are some risks to know. As a powder, magnesite can irritate your respiratory system, skin, and eyes. It’s important to use property safety gear when cutting magnesite, but wearing it as jewelry doesn’t pose any risks.

Stabilized magnesite can be worn in jewelry, though we still recommend getting protective settings and only wearing it in earrings or necklaces. Magnesite will dissolve in acids, so keep those away.

To clean magnesite, simply wipe it with a dry or damp lint-free cloth. Store it in a fabric pouch separately from other stones to avoid scratches.

Explore the Colorful Potential of Magnesite!

At first glance, magnesite may just be an ordinary white gem, but its porous nature and abundance mean you can dye it to any color. If you’re ready to start experimenting with magnesite jewelry, there’s no better time!

Buy magnesite gemstones today!