Blue John Stone is found nowhere in the world but amongst the rocks of Treak Cliff Hill, Castleton. Blue John Stone is now only mined in two caverns: Treak Cliff Cavern and Blue John Cavern. This mineral, a colour banded form of Treak Cliff, is so beautiful that it has been prized for many hundreds of years.
Is Blue John only found in the UK?
Blue John Stone is a rare, semiprecious mineral found at only one location in the world – in the caves of Castleton, Derbyshire in the Peak District National Park.
Is Blue John an amethyst?
However, pieces described as Blue John may actually be Chinese Fluorite or Amethyst – both of which can bear a resemblance to the mineral and often mistaken for it, but visibly offer a very diluted and washed out colouring.
Is Blue John a gemstone?
With a hardness of only 4 on the Mohs’ Scale, fluorite is a soft mineral and Blue John’s brittleness only increases its susceptibility to damage. Worn with care though, Blue John can be displayed and enjoyed; it is a gem that is a real conversation starter.
Where in the World Is Blue John found?
Castleton
Blue John stone is found in only one place on earth, beneath Treak Cliff Hill near the pretty Peak District village of Castleton. Each vein has its own characteristic colour and banding of blue, purple, yellow and white.
Can I Mine Blue John?
Regular mining of Blue John has been carried out in the cavern since the 18th century. Technology has improved with time but great skill is still needed to obtain the mineral…
How rare is Blue John?
There are very few pieces of Blue John left today and the little that remains is either mined during the Winter months or sorted from the spoil heaps from past mining. No two pieces of Blue John are identical making this a very unique gemstone to possess.
What is the rarest blue stone?
Jeremejevite. One of the world’s rarest minerals, jeremejevite occurs in only a few places. Gem-quality specimens from Namibia exhibit light, aquamarine-blue hues. Transparent crystals from other locales are uncommon.
What crystal is Blue John?
fluorite
Blue John (also known as Derbyshire Spar) is a semi-precious mineral, a rare form of fluorite with bands of a purple-blue or yellowish colour. In the UK it is found only at Blue John Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern at Castleton in Derbyshire.
How can you identify a Blue John?
Blue John – What’s in a Name? Despite its name, Blue John isn’t blue in the way that sapphire or turquoise is blue. At best it’s purple, but very often the predominant colour is either white or yellow with narrow purple veins or bands, or even no purple at all.
What is Blue John made of?
Blue John is a semi-precious stone – a fluorite, or fluorspar – with a characteristic blue, yellow and purple banding that is only found in a handful of mines in the Castleton area of Derbyshire.
Is Blue John an agate?
Blue John is a purple blue variety of Fluorite , mined exclusively in the Castleton area of Derbyshire .
What is the best blue stone?
Blue Sapphire is the most sought-after blue stone but there are other gemstone variants that have an equally rich blue color such as Zircon, Lapis Lazuli, and Kyanite, and variants that possess a lighter blue color include gemstones like Aquamarine, Agate, and Topaz.
How Old Is Blue John?
The cavern takes its name from the semi-precious mineral Blue John, which is still mined in small amounts outside the tourist season and made locally into jewellery. The deposit itself is about 250 million years old.
How deep is the Blue John Mine?
This cave descends for 214 feet, but the effort of reclimbing this distance back to the surface is relieved by the beauty of the caverns which are passed on the way.
What does the term Blue John mean?
skim milk
sometimes capitalized J dialectal : skim milk. especially : milk that is just beginning to sour.
Is Blue John fluorescent?
The name “Blue John” comes from the French “bleu et jaune” for blue and yellow describing the colour. I was so disappointed when my first piece if fluorite did not fluoresce! It turns out that the Blue John variety of fluorite does not fluoresce or only very, very slightly.
Is there gold in Derbyshire?
PEAKLAND GOLD. Claims of the discovery of gold have been made at Wirksworth, Millers Dale and Bakewell but the best known ‘gold strike’ in the Peak took place at Over Haddon, where low levels are found in an outcrop of basalt lava.
Is Turquoise found in copper mines?
Copper miners would alert local contacts if they hit rich deposits of Turquoise during their days at work, but it is not uncommon to find it in copper mines – Turquoise is, after all, a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, which is how it gets its striking blue hue.
Why is skim milk called Blue John?
As Mae explained, blue john made its way into the Southern language before the age of pasteurization and refrigeration. You kept your milk in a well to keep it cool and let the cream rise. Then you skimmed off the cream. If the remaining liquid had a light-blue cast, you had blue john.
What is Blue John Pottery?
Description:The Blue John Pottery was in Union Street in Hanley. Established around 1886, the company produced a variety of beakers, jugs, dishes ,teapots, vases etc. The works has been demolished and Union Street is now lined with blocks of flats and housing.