When Calsilica first appeared on the fashion jewelry scene several years ago, it caused quite a stir! With its bright, vivid and varied colors, it is not difficult to understand why calsilica captured the imagination of jewelry designer and jewelry wearer alike. Calsilica earrings, silver pendants, rings, and other items used to be the stars at gem and jewelry fairs.
So what is calsilica and where does it come from? The general consensus is that calsilica is an artificial amalgam of various minerals and stone fragments that are held together with resin. Often the dust and debris settle under water and compress to form a cake. The cake is dried and infused with resin. Once the resin hardens, several pieces are cut from the block and then polished to the desired shine. Since calsilic is man-made, other processes may well be used in its manufacture.
Although many claim that calsilica (or “rainbow calsilica” as it is sometimes called) is a natural material, there is little evidence to support this claim. The most persistent claim (and it still persists today!) Was that calsilica was mined in Chihuahua, Mexico. Calsilica was allegedly discovered in the veins or veins of volcanic rhyolite at the mine.
Calsilica was thought to be a form of microcrystalline calcite, with various clay minerals as binding agents. Supposedly, the mine in Mexico would send letters of authentication and photographs of the mine. Now there are rumors of a spectacular natural calsilica deposit in China. In 2003, the Swiss Gemological Institute (www.SSEF.ch) published a short note on calsilica in one of its newsletters. SSEF purchased two specimens at a mineral exhibition in France in 2002. The seller presented photographs of the mine in Mexico, along with a letter of authentication from a US laboratory stating that the materials were not man-made. They discovered that the base white materials were in fact a calcite. However, they also found artificial coloring pigments within the samples. More importantly, SSEF found that the particles were held together by a transparent, soft, plastic-like material that was very similar to paraffin wax.
Therefore, the preponderance of scientific evidence indicates that calsilic is a man-made material. However, good calsilica specimens are beautiful and can be used to make attractive and inexpensive fashion jewelry.