Did you know?
Sphalerite is named from the Greek for treacherous, because it fooled old miners hunting for lead. Gem-clear pieces hide a second surprise: they scatter light into rainbow fire more than three times stronger than a diamond.
Fluorite gave fluorescence its name. In 1852 the physicist George Stokes, studying the mineral's glow under invisible light, coined the word for the whole phenomenon after the stone itself.
