Formula: CuSiO₃ · H₂O

Species: Silicates – (Cyclosilicates)

Colour: Emerald Green, blue-green

Lustre: Sub-Adamantine, Vitreous, Sub-Vitreous

Hardness: 5

Specific Gravity: 3.28 – 3.35

Crystal System: Trigonal. Bright emerald-green modified rhombohedral usually elongated crystals, usually less than 0.75 cm in size.

Name: Named in 1797 by Hauy from the Greek for “through” and “to see” in allusion to the visibility of internal cleavage planes.

Type Locality: Altyn-Tyube dioptase deposit (Altyn-Tube), Altyn-Tyube area, Bukhar-Zhyrau, Karaganda Region – Kazakhstan