Malachite

Malachite is a copper mineral, and one of the first to be used as an ore of copper, although this is much less common today. It is one of the most commonly faked crystals, usually made from resin or clays, although fakes are usually fairly easy to spot. Significant deposits were present in Egypt and Russia, although these are mostly exhausted these days. Currently much of the Malachite coming onto the market is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Malachite was well loved by the Egyptians - they used it extensively in jewellery and carvings. It is even mentioned in their hieroglyphs as being essential to their gods. It has been prized by other civilisations for its beauty as an ornamental gemstones - the Russians even used Malachite to create the columns of a cathedral in St Petersburg! Traders and merchants in ancient times wore malachite during business deals and to attract prosperity. In Italy, triangular pieces of Malachite were worn to ward off the Evil Eye.