Carbonates
Stichtite
Stichtite is a soft lilac-to-pink carbonate mineral named after Robert Sticht, manager of Tasmania's Mount Lyell mining company, who first brought attention to the material in 1910 — and it's most often sold intergrown with dark green serpentine in a combination rock called atlantisite, found almost nowhere else on Earth in that specific pairing.
The geology — what Stichtite actually is
- Mineral class
- Carbonate (hydrotalcite group, chromium-bearing)
- Chemical formula
- Mg6Cr2(CO3)(OH)16·4H2O
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Mohs hardness
- 1.5–2
What causes the color: Trace chromium within the magnesium carbonate structure produces stichtite's lilac-to-pink color, the same general element responsible for many green and purple minerals' color, here producing a notably softer, pastel result than in harder chromium-bearing gems.
How it forms: Forms through serpentinization — the alteration of chromium-bearing minerals like chromite by hot, mineral-rich fluids — typically as a secondary mineral filling veins within serpentine rock, which is exactly why the two so often occur physically intergrown together.
- Stichtite Hill, Tasmania, Australia (the type locality, named for Robert Sticht)
- South Africa
- Canada
Treatments & imitations: Stichtite is not artificially treated; because it's almost always sold intergrown with serpentine as atlantisite rather than as a pure standalone mineral, buyers should expect and look for that combined green-and-purple appearance as a mark of authenticity.
Real vs. fake: Genuine stichtite (or atlantisite) shows a soft, slightly pearly lilac-purple color veining through or alongside dark green serpentine, and it's extremely soft (Mohs 1.5–2, scratched by a fingernail) — a combination of softness and this specific two-tone coloring that's difficult to convincingly fake.
Almost never sold alone, and softer than a fingernail is hard
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- Atlantisite cabochon
This page says the purple mineral is nearly always sold intergrown with green serpentine, and that combination is itself a mark of genuine material. At Mohs 1.5 to 2 the stichtite areas mark far more easily than the serpentine around them.
The tradition — how people use Stichtite
Historical use: Stichtite has no ancient documented history — it was only formally identified and named in the early 20th century, and its combined form with serpentine (marketed as atlantisite, evoking the lost continent of Atlantis) is a distinctly modern crystal-trade invention rather than an inherited name.
Metaphysical tradition: Its soft purple-pink tone and the mystical Atlantis-referencing marketing behind atlantisite together drive stichtite's modern reputation for gentle emotional release — a recent framing, not one carried down from any older documented source.
How to use it: Usually cut as cabochons, tumbled stones, or small carvings to display the two-tone color combination with serpentine; a simple pendant or palm stone are common everyday forms.
Cleansing & care: At Mohs 1.5–2, stichtite is one of the softest stones commonly sold — handle it gently, keep it away from harder stones and abrasive surfaces, and dust rather than soak it.
Frequently asked questions
What is atlantisite, and is it different from stichtite?
Atlantisite is the trade name for the combined rock where stichtite and serpentine occur naturally intergrown together, found notably in Tasmania. Stichtite is the specific purple-pink mineral component within that combination rock, not a separate or different material.
Related crystals
Serpentine
Serpentine Group
Serpentine isn't one mineral but a group of closely related magnesium-iron silicates — antigorite, chrysotile, and lizardite among them — named for the mottled, scaly green pattern that resembles snake skin (Latin 'serpens'). Genuine caution is warranted with the fibrous form specifically: chrysotile, a serpentine-group mineral, is one of the sources of naturally-occurring asbestos, a real physical hazard in loose raw fiber form, though polished decorative serpentine poses no such risk.
Charoite
Rare Silicate Minerals
Charoite is a swirling lavender-to-deep-violet mineral found in significant quantity at only one place on Earth — a single deposit near the Chara River in Siberia, Russia, which also gave the mineral its name. Mineralogists didn't formally recognize it as its own distinct species until 1978, a comparatively short scientific pedigree for a stone now sold widely across the crystal trade.
Sugilite
Silicates
Sugilite was first identified in Japan in 1944 by petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi, but the deep violet, opaque material that dominates today's crystal trade comes almost entirely from a single manganese mine in South Africa discovered decades later — a good example of a mineral's scientific naming and its commercial gem source being two completely separate stories.
Sources and factual basis for the geology above: see our methodology.