Unakite Jasper

Unakite jasper, usually just called unakite, is not a true jasper at all but an altered granite (an epidotized granite). It is composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote and clear-to-grey quartz, giving it a distinctive mottled pistachio-green and salmon-pink appearance.

The stone is named after the Unaka Mountains of the southeastern United States, where it was first described. Because it polishes well and shows a bold pink-and-green pattern, it is widely used in jewelry, carvings and tumbled-stone sets.

Calling it 'jasper' is a marketing convention; mineralogically it is a coarse-grained metamorphosed igneous rock.

Unakite forms when an existing granite undergoes hydrothermal alteration (metamorphism). Hot, water-rich fluids circulate through the granite and react with its original plagioclase feldspar, converting it into green epidote.

The pink potassium feldspar (orthoclase) and the quartz of the original granite largely survive, so the finished rock is a mosaic of pink feldspar, green epidote and grey quartz. This process is called epidotization.

Classic unakite comes from the Unaka Range of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and from glacial deposits where it was carried, with other notable sources in South Africa, China and Brazil.

Look for a coarse, mottled rock combining salmon-pink feldspar, pistachio-green epidote and grey quartz; this pink-and-green speckled pattern is unmistakable. It is opaque and takes a good polish.

Hardness is roughly 6-7 (feldspar ~6, quartz 7, epidote ~6-7), so it scratches glass with effort. Luster is vitreous to slightly greasy; the grains are visible to the eye, unlike fine-grained jasper.

Look-alikes: true jasper is uniform and fine-grained, not granular; ordinary pink granite lacks the green epidote; rhyolite is finer-grained. The visible coarse grains of pink, green and grey identify unakite.

Unakite is a popular ornamental and lapidary stone, used for cabochons, beads, spheres, eggs, tumbled stones, bookends and carvings. Its hardness and good polish make it suitable for pendants, bracelets and decorative objects.

It has also been used as a building and facing stone, and decorative blocks of unakite appear in some public monuments. It is inexpensive and widely available.

Metaphysically it is associated with balance, emotional healing and gentle grounding, though such properties are traditional rather than scientifically established.