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UnderstandWhat it is, what people ask, how far this page goes
Natural inorganic gem materials · Rock / mineral aggregate · Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Saussurite
A rock in which plagioclase has altered to zoisite, epidote and similar minerals; it sometimes resembles jadeite jade and must be distinguished from it. This page compares how the major standards and institutions name it, what must be disclosed when selling it, whether it can be worn every day, how it is treated and identified, and which source each conclusion comes from.
Price, rarity and origin are outside the scope of this wiki.
What this page can answer
This page covers
- How Saussurite forms and what gives its colourFormation setting, process and timescale, each finding graded and sourced
- How to identify SaussuriteHow far lab testing can go and whether a synthetic exists
- Saussurite in English, Chinese and Japanese; national standard namesNames in four languages, the GB/T standard name and the suggested listing name; and: Which of GIA, FTC, CIBJO and Gem-A have a name for it on record, and do those agree?
- Listing and disclosing SaussuriteThe listing name to use; what must be disclosed before sale
- Standard clauses that define SaussuriteWhich clause defines it, each cross-checked
What we cannot conclude
- Whether one particular bead is natural, treated or synthetic — only a laboratory report can settle that.
- Geographic origin, unless an origin report accompanies the item.
- Price, rarity or investment value: this wiki covers naming and disclosure only.
Material research: formation, causes and history
What authoritative sources say about how this material forms, what causes its colour and optical effects, where its name comes from and how people have used it. Each statement carries an evidence grade and its sources; it describes the material in general, not any specific piece.
How it forms
A zoisitized plagioclase aggregate is a rock/mineral aggregate formed by the alteration of plagioclase-rich rock; its main component is plagioclase together with zoisite, epidote, and other minerals, and the name denotes an aggregate rather than an independent mineral species. Its plagioclase component belongs to the albite (NaAlSi3O8)-anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) continuous solid-solution series; plagioclase is one of the most important rock-forming minerals in the Earth's crust and is widespread in plutonic and metamorphic rocks. During later processes, calcic plagioclase reacts with aqueous fluids to produce calcium aluminium silicate secondary minerals such as zoisite/epidote that coexist with residual plagioclase, forming an altered aggregate (the process being a form of zoisitization/saussuritization-like alteration); plagioclase (especially that with exsolution textures) is 'vulnerable to low-temperature fluid-induced alterations' owing to interface strain. The available sources give the general facts of plagioclase series membership, occurrence, and fluid-alteration susceptibility, but do not specifically address the genesis of a zoisitized plagioclase aggregate, so its alteration detail is an inference.
Scope: Applies to defining this aggregate as an alteration product of plagioclase-rich rocks (plagioclase + zoisite/epidote, etc.), and gives general mechanisms such as the series affiliation of plagioclase and its susceptibility to fluid alteration; does not constitute a quantitative conclusion on ore-forming environments specific to this rock.
Sources G&G Summer 2025 · G&G Fall 2013
Where it forms
Plagioclase-rich rock (plutonic/metamorphic) with later aqueous fluids: calcic plagioclase reacts with fluids to form the altered aggregate.
Sources G&G Summer 2025
Plagioclase's common setting: plagioclase in plutonic and metamorphic rocks, the protolith setting for the alteration.
Sources G&G Summer 2025
How it forms, step by step
Plagioclase-rich rock forms in plutonic/metamorphic settings, and its plagioclase belongs to the albite-anorthite solid-solution series.
Later aqueous fluids react with the plagioclase, especially where exsolution textures and interface strain make it more reactive.
Calcic plagioclase is altered, producing calcium aluminium silicate secondary minerals such as zoisite/epidote.
The secondary minerals coexist with residual plagioclase, forming the zoisitized plagioclase aggregate.
Link to appearance
The aggregate's appearance depends on the proportions and distribution of residual plagioclase and alteration minerals such as zoisite/epidote; 'zoisitized' is a mineralogical/petrological description that alone cannot prove a specific origin or treatment and requires petrography and compositional testing.
Sources G&G Summer 2025
Timescale
The sources give no absolute age or duration for the altered aggregate or its alteration process.
Sources G&G Summer 2025
Related base materials
- Plagioclase solid-solution series (albite-anorthite): host-mineral | The bulk of this aggregate is calcium-rich plagioclase, belonging to the albite-anorthite solid-solution series
- Zoisite (epidote group): alteration-product | Zoisite is a secondary calcium aluminium silicate mineral formed by alteration of plagioclase by hydrous fluids
Supporting findings
Plagioclase (especially with exsolution textures and stronger interface strain) is vulnerable to low-temperature fluid-induced alteration; calcic plagioclase reacting with aqueous fluids can produce calcium aluminium silicate secondary minerals such as zoisite/epidote, forming an altered aggregate.
Evidence grade CScope: The source gives only the general fact that plagioclase is vulnerable to low-temperature fluid alteration and does not specifically describe zoisite/epidote-producing zoisitization, hence grade-C inference.
Plagioclase ranks among the most abundant rock-forming minerals of the Earth's crust; in plutonic and metamorphic plagioclase feldspars, needle-shaped iron oxide inclusions that follow crystallographic directions are near-universal, a signature of their broad magmatic/metamorphic origin followed by later re-equilibration.
Evidence grade AScope: A general note on plagioclase occurrence and inclusions; not specific to the aggregate's locality.
Other research findings
A zoisitized plagioclase aggregate is a rock/mineral aggregate formed by alteration of plagioclase-rich rock, whose main component is plagioclase together with zoisite, epidote, and other minerals; the name denotes an aggregate rather than an independent mineral species.
Evidence grade CScope: An identity/classification statement inferred from the aggregate definition and plagioclase occurrence; the source does not specifically address this aggregate, hence grade C.
Plagioclase is a continuous solid solution between albite (NaAlSi3O8) and anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8); the plagioclase component of this aggregate belongs to that series.
Evidence grade AScope: The general definition of the plagioclase series; it applies to the aggregate's plagioclase component.
Limits of this research
- Research status: Formation, occurrence or other material-specific findings found in authoritative sources
- The cited sources do not specifically address a 'zoisitized plagioclase aggregate'; its zoisitization (plagioclase to zoisite/epidote) is a grade-C inference supported only by 'plagioclase is vulnerable to low-temperature fluid alteration' and the plagioclase series/occurrence facts.
- Deposit-specific setting, alteration P-T conditions, and absolute age/duration for the aggregate are lacking.
Methodology
- Origin determination and its limits
- Quality grading and value factors
- How gemmology became a technical discipline
Evidence grades
- A
- Standards bodies, government geological surveys, peer-reviewed research and museum records
- B
- Institutional educational material
- C
- Specialist databases or cautious readings
A statement is never graded above its strongest source.
This section is LumaLark's own factual restatement of public authoritative sources, credited item by item; it contains no verbatim excerpts, images or third-party logos.
DecideListing name, disclosure, care and treatments
- Suggested listing name
- Saussurite
GB/T 16552—2017 5.1.1 b) · CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book 2024 §7.2.1.208 “Saussurite”
Construction or treatment status
Natural identity; treatment status unknown
Related:Disclosure and cautions
This page cannot answer
Natural? · Origin · Price
A lab report settles these; this wiki covers naming and disclosure.
Related:What this page can answer
Answer at a glance
"Saussurite" is a market name rather than a mineral species name; before using it, verify: Laboratory identification required before the name is used.
Evidence
- GB/T · 5.1.1 b)
What this means for you
Before buying, check the recommended listing name "Saussurite" and any disclosed treatments on this page, and ask the seller for a grading report if in doubt.
Known uncertainty
- This entry's exact material identity is not fully settled.
- See “Disclosure and cautions” above
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-01
Trade-name ruling
- Laboratory identification required before the name is used.
- Suggested listing name
- Saussurite
VerifyNames, standards, technical facts, clauses and sources
Names
Standard and listing namesThe mineral or material name for Saussurite is saussuritised plagioclase aggregate; it is not listed in Annex A of the national standard and can be named directly under GB/T 16552—2017. The suggested listing name is saussuritised plagioclase aggregate (Saussurite). Names in four languagesNames are registered in four languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English (Saussurite) and Japanese; the Japanese name shown is the entry's own, and the wording used by the GSJ (Japan) for it is not yet verified by this site. Trade and mineralogical namesThe mineralogical name describes an altered plagioclase-rich rock containing zoisite, epidote and other minerals. Institution usageOn authority wording, the CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book 2024 records Saussurite; the FTC text on file has no wording for Saussurite (checked); GIA and Gem-A are unchecked. The English name shown for bodies without a recorded wording comes from the entry itself and does not represent the position of those bodies.
- GSJ (Japan) formal name
- ソーシュライト (not yet checked for this body — the entry's own Japanese name is shown)
- Mineral / material name (not in GB/T 16552 Annex A; usable directly)
- 黝帘石化斜长石集合体 (GB/T 16552—2017 §5.1.1 b))
- Mineralogical name
- Altered plagioclase-rich rock with zoisite, epidote and other minerals
Four-language names
- 简体中文
- 黝帘石化斜长石集合体
- 繁體中文
- 黝簾石化斜長石集合體
- English
- Saussurite
- 日本語
- ソーシュライト
See also: Misleading and prohibited trade names · Supplementary name index
Classification
- Origin
- Natural materials
- Material domain
- Natural inorganic gem materials
- Browsing family
- Rocks and polymineral aggregates
- Identity tier
- Rock / mineral aggregate
- Mineral chemical class
- Mixed / composition-dependent
- Construction or treatment status
- Natural identity; treatment status unknown
What it is and how it's identified
The registered material facts for Saussurite are concentrated in the optical properties: transparency is translucent to opaque, and body colour is greyish to yellowish green, often mottled, with the body colour item carrying the treatment state untreated. All are sourced from the CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book (Gemmological Commission 2024-1) entry for Saussurite. This site notes that in chapter 7 of the CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book the colour descriptions of tektite, chiastolite, enstatite and other entries also name grey or a grey tone.
Registered material facts
Each row carries its own source and check date and can be cited on its own; “—” means the cited source gives no value, not “none”.
Optical
Saussurite — transparency: translucent to opaque.
CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book 2024
Source & check 2026-09-22
- Source
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-22
Saussurite — body colour: Greyish to yellowish green, often mottled.
CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book 2024
- Treatment state
- untreated
- Qualification
In chapter 7 of the CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book, the colour descriptions of Tektite / Moldavite, Chiastolite, Enstatite and other entries also name grey or a greyish colour.
- General note
- colour alone is not identity
Source & check 2026-09-26
- Source
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-26
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Testing and market
The tests the CIBJO laboratory protocol requires for Saussurite, and what each method covers, are given in the protocol table on the laboratory testing page. The registered identification conclusion is that there is no synthetic Saussurite on the market.
The tests the CIBJO laboratory protocol requires for this material, and what each method means, are in the protocol table on the laboratory testing page: §6.1.71.
How far testing can go
Saussurite — synthetic counterpart on the market: No synthetic counterpart of this material is commercially available
CIBJO Gemstone Book 2022
- Treatment state
- any treatment state
Source & check 2026-09-22
- Source
- Fact checked on
- 2026-09-22
Each row's “Source & check” expands to the full source; the date beside it is the fact check date.
Clause-level definitions
Saussurite has a clause-level definition in the CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Book 2024 under the term Saussurite; CIBJO lists it as a rock, defining it as the rock saussurite, with the CIBJO wording quoted in full under Clause-level definitions on this page. The cross-check result is defined directly by CIBJO, with no English term of the same name found directly in the GB/T annex of this edition.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Term | Clause | Definition | Cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saussurite | 7.2.1.208 | Saussurite is a rock primarily composed of green zoisite and/or epidote with white feldspar and various amounts of other minerals. Greyish to yellowish green, often mottled, translucent to opaque | Defined directly by CIBJO; no identically named English entry was found in this edition of the GB/T annex. |
Evidence and sources
Authority basis and clause sources
Sources
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. Gemmological Laboratories Book (Blue Book), Gemmological Commission 2024-1.
- CIBJO – The World Jewellery Confederation. The Gemstone Book (Blue Book), 2022.
- SAMR / SAC (China). GB/T 16552—2017 Gems — Nomenclature.
- RRUFF Project, in partnership with the IMA – International Mineralogical Association. IMA Mineral List.
- Geological Survey of Japan, AIST (Japan). Museum mineral specimens, browse by classification.
Further reading
Related entries and topic cluster
Parent entry and related pages on this site. Rows marked “Planned” are suggested new content and have no link yet.
This table scrolls sideways on narrow screens.
| Page | Content | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing family | Rocks and polymineral aggregates | Live |
| Related articles | To be added (placeholder) | Planned |
Who maintains this page
The material facts in the Saussurite entry are maintained by the LumaLark wiki and matched one by one to the standard clauses or institutional sources they cite: every fact carries its source (with a clause or page locator) and a check date, so it can be traced back to the original; clause-level definitions also carry a cross-check result. The entry exists so that buyers and sellers can check naming, disclosure and material facts item by item.