Epidote is a calcium, aluminum, iron hydroxysilicate. The mineral is fairly dense and fragile, and is therefore rarely cut as a gemstone. Epidote ranges in color from yellow to yellowish green, dark brown, dark green, and black. Crystals occur as columnar prisms, with faces running parallel to the crystal's length. Epidote displays a strong pleochroism, showing yellow, green or brown. Pistacite is a pistachio-green colored variety of epidote that is sometimes faceted. It is mostly found in small sized gems, weighing less than five carats. Rocks made up of mostly epidote are polished or tumbled and sold as unakite. When epidote is polished to form cabochons, the resulting stones can display a cat's eye effect.
Epidote displays the distinctive features of being yellow-green in color, with a prismatic habit. However, the stone can still be mistaken for tourmaline. Upon closer inspection however, tourmaline lacks the cleavage that epidote has, and tourmaline has a hexagonal or triangular cross section which epidote does not. Epidote rates a 6 to 7 on the hardness scale. It has a vitreous luster, and is transparent to nearly opaque. Epidote is found in medium to low-grade metamorphic rocks, especially from those derived from igneous rocks or calcareous sediments.
Epidote can be found all over the world. The biggest source of the stone is in eastern France, in Bourg d'Oisans, Isere. Highly prized crystals also come from Krasnoyarsk, in central Siberia, Russia. Other European locations include the Jilove district, Bohemia, in the Czech Republic; Erzgebirge, Saxony, in east Germany; Valle d'Aosta, in northwest Italy; Liguria, in northern Italy; Nora, Vastmanland, in eastern Sweden; Isle of Mull, in western Scotland; the island of Elba in Italy; and the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, in southwest England. Other locations include Macquarie Island, in Tasmania, and various locations around Australia, Mozambique, Mexico, and the Austrian and French Alps. In America, epidote can be found in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Houghton County, Michigan, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Sussex County, New Jersey, Sterling Lake, and Orange County, New York, Berkeley, Rhode Island, Buckhorn Mountain, Washington, and in the Green Monster Mine, Prince of Wales Island, in Alaska. In Canada, epidote occurs in the Bancroft District in Hastings County, and in Cobalt, Timiskaming County, in Ontario.
Epidote has many attributes for the mind and the body. Psychologically, the stone has the power to rid the wearer of negative and repressed emotions. Furthermore, it helps the wearer defeat fears of communicating and expressing thoughts. Fear of communicating may stem from the fact that the wearer does not understand his own mind, which this stone can help with. It helps center the wearer's thoughts, enabling him to easily put his thoughts into words. The stone also helps the wearer organize his life by again, centering his thoughts, as well as by stabilizing him, and helping him master routine and consistency. Physically, epidote is helpful for detoxifying the body.
