Vesuvianite

In the Museum

The Canadian Museum of Nature's mineral collection contains many vesuvianite samples from across Canada, including samples from Quebec's Eastern Townships, BC's Silence Lake, and Ontario's Malone, to name just a few. The museum also has samples from Mexico, Russia and the United States.

The collection's specimens include the range of vesuvianite colours -- yellow, green, purple and brown -- and a wide range of sizes -- from less than a millimetre to more than 15 cm.

And although vesuviante is not a common gemstone, the museum collection includes cut gemstones.

In 1998, museum Research Scientist Scott Ercit and other scientists described a new species of vesuvianite, wiluite, from Russia.