Diopside is cut and sometimes sold in Turin and in Chamouny as a gem
stone, but no great quantity of this mineral is used for ornamental
purposes.
The hardness of diopside is 5 to 6; specific gravity, 2.9 to 3.5;
lustre, vitreous to greasy. It is transparent to translucent, brittle,
cannot be dissolved by acids, and melts before the blow-pipe. It is
composed of:
Silica 54
Lime 24
Magnesia 18
Ferrous oxide 4
This mineral is grayish-white to pearl-gray, and greenish-white to
greenish-gray. The best green transparent specimens are from the Mussa
Alp and Zillerthal, but it is also found in the Urals and the United
States.