116:, although its durability is low. It has a hardness of just 5 to 5 ½ and chips about as easily as obsidian or window glass. It is best used in earrings, pendants, brooches, and other types of jewelry where it will not encounter impact or abrasion. Even in these uses it should be considered to be a very delicate stone. If it is used as a ring stone, the facet edges will be easily abraded, the faces will be easily scratched, and the stone might be chipped with even a slight impact. It is seen as an inexpensive alternative to naturally-occurring green gemstones, such as
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As word of the discovery spread, jewelry companies took note and began to find ways to reproduce the helenite. Helenite is made by heating rock dust and particles from the Mount St. Helens area in a
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present in the rocks and ash in the area, combined with the heat of the torches, transformed the volcanic particles into a compound that would be later commercially replicated as helenite.
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Timber
Company were attempting to salvage equipment damaged after the volcanic eruption. Using
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to a temperature of approximately 2,700 °F (1,480 °C). Although helenite and
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235:, Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry at enchantedlearning.com
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58:. Helenite was first created accidentally after the
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179:Lalaena Gonzalez-Figueroa (April 24, 2017).
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16:Artificial glass made from volcanic ash
158:"Mt St Helens Helenite (Obsidianite)"
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60:eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980
245:Helenite Gemstone & Information
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23:Helenite set in an earring
32:Mount St. Helens obsidian
207:Hobart M. King (2015).
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46:made from the fused
181:"What is Helenite?"
62:. Workers from the
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160:. Pioneer Jewelers
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134:Goldstone (glass)
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183:. Sciencing
315:Categories
247:at JTV.com
209:"Helenite"
145:References
321:Gemstones
83:aluminium
68:acetylene
239:Helenite
128:See also
106:obsidian
91:chromium
56:gemstone
48:volcanic
28:Helenite
215:May 19,
187:May 19,
164:May 19,
139:Olivine
122:peridot
118:emerald
102:furnace
71:torches
42:, is a
95:copper
79:silica
38:, and
326:Glass
268:glass
266:This
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272:stub
217:2019
189:2019
166:2019
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