Characteristics of Aragonite:

Chemical Name: Calcium carbonate

Formula: CaCO3

Colors: Colorless, white, grey, yellowish, reddish, green

Structure: Orthorhombic

Hardness: 3.5-4

Specific Gravity: 2.9

Refractive Index: 1.53-1.68

Lustre: Vitreous inclining to resinous

Streak: White

Locations: Spain, Italy, China

What is Aragonite? 

Aragonite occurs in rocks in the same way as other minerals, but it is also produced by certain biological processes – the shells of many marine molluscs, as well as corals and pearls, are composed mainly or aragonite. Like all carbonates, it is soft, fragile, and very difficult to facet, with transparent crystals only rarely faceted for collectors. Facet-quality crystals come from the Czech Republic, and there are superb cave formations in Mexico, but its type locality is Molina de Aragon in Spain after which it is named, following its discovery in 1791.