Marmolite is a foliated or platy variety of serpentine that exhibits a distinct pearly luster. Collectors look for its characteristic leaf-like or layered structure, which distinguishes it from massive serpentinite, typically occurring as thin sheets within veins.
Is this marmolite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch marmolite with a known reference. Marmolite sits at Mohs 2.5-3 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Marmolite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Marmolite typically shows a pearly luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, pale green, white.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: monoclinic. Typical habit: platy, foliated, or lamellar.
Often confused with
Marmolite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside marmolite
Minerals reported to co-occur with marmolite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄
- Mohs hardness
- 2.5-3
- Density
- 2.5-2.6 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Pearly
- Transparency
- Translucent
- Crystal system
- Monoclinic
- Crystal habit
- Platy, Foliated, Or Lamellar
- Cleavage
- Perfect Basal
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary
- Host rock
- Ultramafic Rocks Altered By Hydrothermal Fluids
- Typical price
- $5-30 thumbnail
Where rockhounds find marmolite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
- Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA
- Val di Susa, Italy
Field-hunting tip
Look in ultramafic rocks altered by hydrothermal fluids country — that is the host setting where marmolite typically forms. If you start seeing chrysotile, antigorite, calcite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a platy, foliated, or lamellar habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in North Carolina — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find marmolite on the map
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