Chrysocolla is a soft copper silicate in blue and green, often mixed with quartz. It is sometimes sold as a turquoise look-alike but is a different mineral and more fragile.
Phyllosilicate (hydrous copper silicate)
Chrysocolla
Crisocola
- Palette
- Blue Green
- Mined in
- United States, Chile, Zambia
- Hardness
- Mohs 2.5–3.5 ?
- See-through
- opaque
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Greek for gold glue, a material used to solder gold
- Also sold as
- gem silica (silicified form)
- Intention
- Calm Strength
- Looking for
- Calm Communication Creativity
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- Chrysocolla beads are often stabilized, and some are coated with a clear resin or dyed; a few lots are sold natural.
Not in our pieces now
315 BC
Theophrastus used the name chrysocolla in 315 BC, a Greek word for gold glue, after a material used to solder gold.
MOHS 2 TO 7
Depending on how much silica is mixed in, chrysocolla ranges from 2 all the way up to 7 on the Mohs scale.
SPERTINIITE
A 2006 study suggested that material sold as chrysocolla may be a microscopic mix of spertiniite, amorphous silica and water.
What it is
Chrysocolla is a copper silicate in blue, cyan and blue-green, often swirled with white or brown quartz and sometimes with green malachite. Pure chrysocolla is soft and porous; the harder pieces used in jewelry are usually mixed with or replaced by quartz. It is often sold as a substitute for turquoise, which is a different mineral.
What gives it its color
Copper gives chrysocolla its bright blue to green color. It forms in the weathered upper parts of copper deposits and is often mixed with quartz, which makes it harder.
Where it comes from
Chrysocolla comes from copper-mining regions, including Arizona, Chile, Peru, the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, chrysocolla is a stone of peace and honest speech. It's said to be kept for calm conversations and creative thinking.
Its name comes from Greek words for gold and glue, after a material once used to solder gold.
People wear it as a pendant near the throat, keep it in a meditation space, or pair it with clear quartz. It stays dry.
How people wear or keep it: As a pendant near the throat, in a meditation space, alongside clear quartz, or in the open outdoors.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, chrysocolla is paired with the heart and throat and third eye chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as a pendant near the throat, in a meditation space, alongside clear quartz. People reach for it when they want calm, communication, creativity, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraHeart, Throat, Third Eye
ZodiacGemini, Taurus, Virgo
ElementWater
Also calledgem silica (silicified form)
Care
- Pure chrysocolla is soft and brittle; quartz-rich pieces are harder, but handle all as fragile.
- Keep it away from water, sweat and perfume, and do not soak it.
- Avoid acids, cleaners and long sun or heat.
- Wipe with a soft dry cloth and store on its own in a pouch.
How to tell what you have
- Real chrysocolla is patchy and uneven in color, soft and a little chalky-looking, unlike turquoise, which has a waxy surface and cannot be scratched by a steel nail. Banded green is more likely malachite, which looks silky when polished.
- Harder pieces are often mixed with or replaced by quartz; the resin or stabilizing makes the stone more durable, so keep it away from steam, ultrasonic cleaners, household chemicals and long heat.
What sets the price
Price follows how intense and even the blue or green is, how attractive any veining is, and how hard and smooth the piece is; pure soft chrysocolla costs less than harder blends with quartz, and stabilized or dyed beads sit lower.
Rules and sourcing
Chrysocolla beads are often stabilized, and some are coated with clear resin or dyed. The FTC jewelry guides call for a seller to disclose all of these.
Questions people ask at our table
What is chrysocolla?
Chrysocolla is a blue-green copper silicate that forms where copper ore weathers. It can be a mixture with quartz, which makes it harder and more suitable for jewelry.
Is chrysocolla the same as turquoise?
No. Turquoise is a copper aluminum phosphate. Chrysocolla is a copper silicate, and it is softer, though it is often sold as a turquoise substitute.
Why is it so fragile?
Pure chrysocolla is only about 2.5 to 3.5 on the Mohs scale. The more quartz or silica in a piece, the harder it gets, up to around 7 in the silicified form called gem silica.
Does it come with other colors?
Often. It forms beside malachite and azurite, and can show swirls of green or deep blue, as well as white or brown quartz.
Do you carry chrysocolla?
Not currently. Turquoise, African turquoise and amazonite are in our pieces and give a similar blue-green color.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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