Realgar
High-end Mineral Specimens
Realgar is a very soft arsenic sulfide mineral with vivid orange-red color and resinous lustre. It occurs in low-temperature hydrothermal veins, volcanic deposits, and hot-spring settings, but light changes it into yellow-orange alteration products and destroys its surface.
Identity
- Material or variety
- Realgar
- Scientific or material identity
- Realgar
- Classification
- Natural mineral or mineral variety
- Aliases or trade names
- Arsenic blende · Ruby sulphur · Ruby of arsenic
- Composition or formula
- As₄S₄
- Crystal system or structure
- Monoclinic
- Geological or manufacturing origin
- Can form in more than one geological environment, or combines several materials.
- Mohs hardness
- 1.5 to 2
Origins
Hungary · Peru · USA
Appearance & optical properties
brilliant orange-red realgar with translucent crystal faces.
History & discovery
The English name, recorded by the late fourteenth century, came through Arabic and referred to mine powder. Realgar served as a red-orange pigment across parts of Asia and the ancient Mediterranean, remaining in European painting until more durable pigments replaced it.
Uses & care
- Common uses
- Historic uses included pigment, fireworks, and a minor arsenic ore. Today, its softness, toxicity, and light sensitivity make well-formed crystals chiefly protected mineral specimens rather than wearable gems.
- Handling and cleaning
- Store in a closed, opaque box and expose it to light only briefly. Do not cut, grind, or create dust; wear gloves for extended handling, wash hands afterward, and keep specimens away from food and children.
Jewellery
5 pieces of Realgar jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.
Ruby Sulphur Ring
Ring
A ring set with a small polished realgar, a red-orange almost like the ruby sulphur of the old writers. The stone is fragile and kept behind a protective bezel.
Dragon's Blood Pendant
Pendant
A pendant of one vivid realgar crystal, the colour of the vermilion pigment ground from the same mineral. It is a curiosity, not a daily jewel.
Sunset Arrow Brooch
Brooch
A brooch shaped like an arrowhead set with a flat realgar polished to a warm orange glow. It takes its colour from the oldest red pigment in the painter's jar.
Red Lantern Earrings
Earrings
An imagined pair of earrings, each a little lantern of red realgar crystal in gold, glowing like a paper lantern at a festival.
Vermilion Lion Seal
Jewel
An imagined seal carved from red realgar with a seated lion on top, in the manner of Chinese scholars' seals.