HIDDENITE (miniature)

Hiddenite is a greenish (chromium) variety of spodumene, ranging from pale to emerald hues, and is occasionally utilized as a gemstone. The initial discoveries of hiddenite occurred around 1879 near White Plains, west of Stony Point in Alexander County, North Carolina. A local man named Lackey introduced these specimens to J.A.D. Stephenson, a mineral collector and merchant. Initially mistaken for gemmy diopside, the yellowish to greenish-yellow hiddenites caught the attention of exploration geologist William Earl Hidden, who was tasked by Thomas Edison to find platinum sources in North Carolina. Hidden forwarded samples to J. Lawrence Smith, a noted chemist and mineralogist, who accurately identified them as a spodumene variety and named it "hiddenite" in honor of Hidden. Subsequently, the area where these gemstones were discovered was renamed "Hiddenite," and during the peak of hiddenite mining in the late 19th century, it was also referred to as "lithia emerald."

Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral characterized as a lithium aluminum inosilicate, with the chemical formula LiAl(SiO3)2, making it a significant commercial source of lithium. This mineral can be found in various colors, including colorless, yellowish, purplish, or lilac forms known as kunzite, as well as yellowish-green or emerald-green varieties called hiddenite. Spodumene typically forms prismatic crystals, which can reach impressive sizes; notable examples include single crystals measuring up to 14.3 meters (47 feet) from the Black Hills in South Dakota, United States.