Unakite semiprecious gemstone index and mineral information

Unakite is a form of granite consisting of quartz, pink feldspar and green epidote. It is opaque but when polished it becomes a very attractive stone. Unakite’s name derives from the region where it was found, the Unaka mountain range in North Carolina, United States. Good quality unakite is considered a semi-precious stone; it will take a good polish and is often used in jewelry and other lapidary work such as eggs, spheres and other carvings. It is also referred to as epidotized granite, when it lacks the quartz.

Unakite is considered a “new on the market” stone. “New on the market,” that have been known for quite some time, but its importance for the gemstone trade has remained minor or insignificant due to its extreme rarity of occurrence or because of inadequate marketing.

Unikite is cut en cabochon and barrel-shaped for costume jewelry.

Unakite can be found as pebbles and cobbles from glacial drift in the beach rock on the shores of Lake Superior, in the state of Minnesota, Wisconsin. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and is the world’s third-largest freshwater lake by volume. In Virginia in the river valleys after having been washed down from the Blue Ridge Mountains; and also in South Africa, Sierra Leone, Brazil, and China.

Density: 2.85