Aventurine is a mineral with a hardness of 7 out of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness [?]. These Trigonally structured gems are made of silicon dioxide, their full chemical compound being SiO2.
Aventurine is a quartz mineral that is most often used to crave ornate animal or spiritual figures. Aventurescence is a term used to describe the shimmering of this stone that is caused by mica inclusions. The color is almost always green, however sometimes it is blue, or green with hints of blue, or brown.
Aventurine is ideal for the carving of figures, but not the best material in the world for working into a clear gem. In our oppinion Aventurine has been treated very much like jade or jadenite in terms of it's many usages. Gems are usually polished round, with a rare few being cut into stones with facets.
To be perfectly honest Aventurine is not simply a quartz but rather a conglomerate of mostly quartz and other inclusions. This gem is very affordable unless carved into an ornate figurine in which case you will most likely be paying a premium for the artist work, and not so much the raw material.
The specific gravity [?] for Aventurine is 2.65, its refractive index [?] is 1.54-1.55, and its double refraction [?] is 0.009.
History
The words "a ventura" is Italian for by chance, and has been used for lucky charms.
Has historically been found in the United States, Brazil, Russia, Tanzania, and other places.
Industrial Usages
Aventurine is widely used in carvings as it's color and hardness lend it well to carving.