Hiddenite

A variety of Spodumene

Nowdays this name generally refers to a green gem variety of Spodumene. Originally it was defined by Kunz as "always transparent, ranges from colorless (rare) to a light yellow, into a yellowish green, then into a deep yellow emerald green. Sometimes an entire crystal has a uniform green color, but generally one end is yellow and the other green."

There are disagreements between different people as to what now constitutes a "hiddenite", some claiming it must contain some chromium, others claiming it must be a particular shade of green, others claiming both of the above and that it must be from the Hiddenite area of North Carolina. There is no correct answer to this - the name is used in different ways by different people and not generally used in its original definition - i.e. colourless gem Spodumene would not be referred to as Hiddenite.

Originally described from Hiddenite, Alexander Co., North Carolina, USA.