Moldavite - a green stone from outer space

Moldavite is a green, transparent natural glaze, or so-called tektite, and its name comes from the German river Moldau, in Polish Vltava. For this reason, it is also known as wooltavite. Moldavite is mainly found in the Czech Republic and Moravia, but it has also been found in Saxony, Austria and Switzerland, and a recent find was reported in Lower Silesia.

According to the latest knowledge, scientists believe that Moldavites are part of a giant meteorite that fell near the present-day Bavarian city of Nördlingen some 15 million years ago. A huge crater 25 kilometers in diameter was then formed, today a circular depression called Nördlinger Ries.

The meteorite, about 1.5 km in diameter, entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of about 20 km/s. Immediately before the impact, the rock melted under high pressure and temperature and was ejected partly in the form of plasma at a speed of several kilometers per second. The flat angle of flight of the material, where interaction and outgassing took place, played a role in this, which explains the different elemental content and form of the Moldavites. During the flight, the material cooled quickly and solidified into an amorphous (glassy) form. Moldavites are pieces of vitreous that were transported above a dense layer of the atmosphere 250 to 450 kilometers and fell back to earth mostly in the area of today's Czech Republic.

Each Moldavite is thus a small meteorite, and thus a visitor from another world. It is valued by collectors and jewelers as a natural stone, striking in both polished and raw form.

The description of the first finding of Moldavite dates back to 1878. Joseph Mayer described in detail in his article "green glass masses" from Thein on the Vltava River (Moldau). According to him, "it is possible to find there particularly small pieces of green vitreous mass, equal to our garnet, very pure and transparent, with a very beautiful dark green color."

It took several years before the green vitreous was identified as an independent mineral, rather than chrysolite or green obsidian. The name Moldavite appears earlier with Czech-Austrian naturalist Franz Xawery Zippe, who made a reference to "a variety of obsidian known as water chrysolite or Moldavite," from the site of the first find near Moldautein (today's Czech town of Týn nad Vltavou).

Until the 19th century, mineralologists and geologists did not agree on the origin of Moldavite. In 1888, Czech-Austrian archaeologist, geologist and paleontologist Johann Nepomuk Woldrich described, among other things, the assumptions of geologist Alexander Makovsky that "all Moldavites are artificial glass slags, coming from glassworks as useless waste" and were scattered over the surrounding fields. The supposition was obvious, given the numerous glassworks in Bohemia, but Woldrich also discovered green glaze buried in deeper layers of soil, which, given the speed of soil formation, indicated a much older age for the find. The scientist commented on this fact ironically: "If the artificial nature of Moldavite had been proven, then its origin would have been even more interesting. After all, French Cro-Magnon man (the name refers to the site of the discovery of Homo sapiens skeletons in France by Louis Lartet in 1868) would have been a third-rate newcomer compared to our dileuvial ancestors, who, although still hunting mammoths, were glassmakers in the process. "

Properties of Moldavite

Moldavite is a mineral glaze that was formed as a result of extraterrestrial influences, namely an asteroid impact that occurred 15 million years ago. Until the 19th century, Moldavite was still described in geological literature as a variety of obsidian. Indeed, both moldavite and obsidian are representatives of the mineral enamel group, but their origins are fundamentally different. While obsidian is the product of volcanic eruptions, moldavite is referred to as tektite.

Moldavite's composition is about 80% silica, with the rest being oxides of aluminum, calcium and manganese. The mineral occurs in various shades of green: yellowish green, brownish green or pure green. Mineralogist and geologist Gustav Leonhard described these colors as olive green or garlic leaf green. However, it is most often found in olive green or bottle green.

Moldavite's color can also be found in other minerals, such as chrysolite or a variety of olivine. Hence the encountered synonyms: Bohemian chrysolite or Bohemian peridot, which are misleading and also serve to raise the value of Moldavite.

Moldavite shows a vitreous luster and a white crack. Its density is 2,303 to 2,385 g/cm³. The fracture is shell-like, with a hardness on the Mohs ten-point scale of 5.5 to 6.5. It shows a typical glassy, or amorphous, structure.

The largest moldavite in the world

The size of individual Moldavites varies over a wide range from small two-gram specimens to the largest at 265.5 grams, named Slovak Moldavite.

Importance and uses of Moldavite

Moldavite is a rare mineral, so it is a sought-after object for collectors, and is also used in jewelry products. The price of Moldavite depends largely on its color and transparency; the more saturated its green and greater its transparency, the higher its value.

Thanks to its beautiful color and transparency, moldavite has become a favorite ornamental stone. The transparency of the stone is especially emphasized by the facet cut - oval, round, drop-shaped, or polygonal. The stone impresses as a pendant, ring or earring, but it also presents its original beauty in other jewelry products.

Effect of Moldavite

In addition to its jewelry and aesthetic value, moldavite is also attributed medicinal properties, but this has not been confirmed by scientific research. Moldavite is believed to help with severe infectious diseases, strengthen the immune system, detoxify the blood and relieve anemia, help with headaches, promote healing processes, and cure fungal infections.

As for the effect of this mineral on a person's soul, it is believed that it adds vital energy, removes apathy and energy blockages, improves the ability to remember, inspires imagination, supports creativity, promotes the implementation of plans, enhances empathy and foresight, brings spontaneous, unconventional ideas and solutions to problems.