Vivianite is a natural iron phosphate in deep blue-green, so soft and light-sensitive that it is kept as a collector's mineral and never beaded. We do not carry it.
Phosphate
Vivianite
Vivianita
- Palette
- Blue Green
- Mined in
- Bolivia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States
- Hardness
- Mohs 1.5–2.0 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- 1817
- Named for
- J. H. Vivian, a Cornish mine owner (or another Vivian)
- Also sold as
- blue ochre
- Intention
- Calm New Beginnings
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- Vivianite is not normally made into beads. No bead-trade disclosure was found; collectors report re-bluing and coatings on some specimens.
Not in our pieces now
COLORLESS
Fresh vivianite is colorless to pale green and turns blue, then darker green, brown and purplish black as light oxidizes it.
OVER A METER
Cameroon has produced the world's largest vivianite crystals, reportedly over a meter long and found in mud.
ABRAHAM GOTTLOB WERNER
The mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner named vivianite in 1817, the year he died.
What it is
Vivianite is a deep blue to blue-green iron phosphate, usually found as glassy crystals or earthy crusts. It is very soft and fragile, and light slowly darkens its color, so it is a collector mineral and is not made into beads.
What gives it its color
Fresh vivianite is nearly clear; the deep blue to blue-green develops as the iron in it oxidizes on exposure to light and air, and long exposure can turn it dark.
Where it comes from
The finest vivianite comes from Bolivia (Llallagua, Potosí and Oruro); it was first described from Cornwall, England, and also occurs in Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine (Crimea) and the United States.
In history
Ground vivianite was used as a blue pigment called blue ochre, appearing in medieval wall paintings in Germany and England. Vermeer's The Procuress (1656) and Rembrandt's Susanna (1636) contain it, and it was named in 1817 for a Vivian of Cornwall after specimens from Wheal Kitty in St Agnes, Cornwall.
What's said about it
We found no long-standing lore of its own. Its best-known history is as a blue pigment for artists, called blue ochre.
Anyone who keeps blue-green stones for calm would read it the same way, but that is a reading of the color.
It belongs in a closed box or display case, out of light.
How people wear or keep it: In a display case, in a closed box, or on a shelf out of light.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, vivianite is paired with the heart chakra, 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: in a display case, in a closed box, on a shelf out of light. 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
ZodiacCancer
ElementWater
Also calledblue ochre
Care
- Extremely soft; a fingernail can mark it, and it splits along layers.
- Keep it out of light, which darkens the color; a closed box is best.
- Keep it dry and handle it as little as possible.
- Do not wear it; it is made for a display case, not a bracelet.
How to tell what you have
- Vivianite is a blue to blue-green iron phosphate that is very soft (1.5 to 2) and fragile. Light and air slowly turn it dark.
- Handling: wash your hands after touching it, keep it out of your mouth, and do not breathe any dust.
- Keep it in the dark between displays and clean it only with a dry brush or a light rinse.
Questions people ask at our table
What is vivianite?
It is a natural iron phosphate that forms deep blue to blue-green crystals.
Why does it change color?
Light turns the iron in it from one form to another and the color deepens, sometimes within minutes. Collectors keep it in the dark.
Can it be worn as a bracelet?
No. It is about as soft as talc to gypsum and splits in layers, so it is kept as a specimen.
Is it like azurite?
Both are deep blue, but azurite is a copper mineral and harder. Vivianite is an iron mineral and far more fragile.
Do you carry it?
We do not carry vivianite. For a deep blue stone we carry sodalite and blue apatite.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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