An artifical material created for carving/lapidary purposes. Contains a mixture of calcite, plastic and artifical colouring pigments (PB15, an art-supply pigment), and a paraffin-like material. [ref: Winter 2002, Gems and Gemology, journal of Gemological Institute of America]
Although suppliers claim it to be a natural stone, tests have indicated that it is probably powdered carbonate rock artificially coloured and then stabilized with plastic.
