Phenakite is a rare beryllium silicate often prized by collectors for its exceptional brilliance and high refractive index. It typically forms clear, glassy, prismatic crystals that are frequently mistaken for quartz or topaz. Collectors should look for its hardness and characteristic trigonal crystal habit to distinguish it from more common colorless minerals.
Is this phenakite?
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 phenakite with a known reference. Phenakite sits at Mohs 7.5-8 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Phenakite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Phenakite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: colorless, white, yellow, pink, brown.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: prismatic crystals, rhombohedral.
Often confused with
Phenakite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside phenakite
Minerals reported to co-occur with phenakite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Be₂SiO₄
- Mohs hardness
- 7.5-8
- Density
- 2.93-3.03 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic Crystals, Rhombohedral
- Cleavage
- Indistinct
- Fluorescence
- None to Occasional Blue or Yellow
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Gemstone, Collector
- Host rock
- Granite Pegmatites, Hydrothermal Veins
- Typical price
- $50-500+ per gram depending on clarity and cut
Where rockhounds find phenakite
2 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Russia
- Brazil
- Madagascar
- Nigeria
- USA
Field-hunting tip
Look in granite pegmatites, hydrothermal veins country — that is the host setting where phenakite typically forms. If you start seeing beryl, microcline, albite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a prismatic crystals, rhombohedral habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Maine, Wisconsin — start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find phenakite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
