Wulfenite

High-end Mineral Specimens

Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral that forms in the oxidized zones of lead deposits. Its tetragonal crystals are often thin, square plates in vivid yellow, orange, or red; despite their gem-like luster, they are soft, brittle, and commonly too thin for cutting.

Identity

Material or variety: Wulfenite
Scientific or material identity: Wulfenite
Classification: Natural mineral or mineral variety
Aliases or trade names: Yellow lead ore
Composition or formula: PbMoO₄
Crystal system or structure: Tetragonal
Geological or manufacturing origin: Can form in more than one geological environment, or combines several materials.
Mohs hardness: 3

Origins

Austria · Mexico · Namibia · Slovenia · USA

Appearance & optical properties

orange-red wulfenite with thin tabular crystals.

History & discovery

The mineral was first described in 1845 from Bad Bleiberg in Carinthia, Austria. It was named for Austrian mineralogist Franz Xaver von Wulfen, whose work included the study of Carinthian minerals. Arizona designated wulfenite as its official state mineral in 2017, reflecting the state's celebrated crystal localities.

Uses & care

Common uses: Wulfenite has been worked as a secondary ore of molybdenum, but its best-formed orange and red crystals are now especially sought as display specimens.
Handling and cleaning: Keep crystals as protected display specimens. Avoid heat, vibration, rubbing, and hard contact: wulfenite has a Mohs hardness near 3, distinct cleavage, and brittle, often very thin crystals.

Jewellery

5 pieces of Wulfenite jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.

Red Cloud Tablet Ring
Ring
A ring set with a flat wafer of wulfenite the colour of a desert dusk, clear enough to see through. The thin tabular crystal was left square to show its sharp edges.
Sunset Blade Pendant
Pendant
A pendant framing a cluster of thin wulfenite blades that fan out in orange and amber. Few minerals make so bright a colour in so thin a sheet.
Gold Wafer Brooch
Brooch
A brooch set with square wulfenite tablets in honey and brick red, arranged like tiles across a gold plate. Wulfenite is Arizona's state mineral, and this piece borrows its desert palette.
Orange Tile Earrings
Earrings
An imagined pair of earrings, each a thin square plate of wulfenite in glowing orange, like a tile of stained glass.
Sunset Tile Necklace
Necklace
An imagined gold necklace of square wulfenite plates, each a glowing orange tile like a sunset.