Specularite is a variety of hematite characterized by its highly reflective, metallic, and platy or micaceous crystal habit. Collectors often look for specimens with brilliant luster that creates a sparkling, mirror-like appearance when moved under light.
Is this specularite?
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 specularite with a known reference. Specularite sits at Mohs 5.5-6.5 — softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Specularite leaves a cherry-red to reddish-brown streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Specularite typically shows a metallic luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: steel-gray, iron-black, silvery-gray.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: trigonal. Typical habit: tabular crystals, micaceous, foliated aggregates.
Often confused with
Specularite vs. its common look-alikes — and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Specularite leaves cherry-red to reddish-brown, Manaccanite leaves black; luster reads metallic on Specularite and submetallic on Manaccanite.
How to tell apart: Streak differs — Specularite leaves cherry-red to reddish-brown, Magnetite leaves black.
Often found alongside specularite
Minerals reported to co-occur with specularite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Fe₂O₃
- Mohs hardness
- 5.5-6.5
- Density
- 5.2-5.3 g/cm³
- Streak
- Cherry-red to Reddish-brown
- Luster
- Metallic
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Micaceous, Foliated Aggregates
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Lapidary, Decorative
- Host rock
- Hydrothermal Veins, Metamorphic Schists, Banded Iron Formations
- Typical price
- $5-50 thumbnail, $30-200 cabinet specimen
Where rockhounds find specularite
5 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Island of Elba, Italy
- Cumbria, England
- Marquette Range, Michigan, USA
Field-hunting tip
Look in hydrothermal veins, metamorphic schists, banded iron formations country — that is the host setting where specularite typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, magnetite, pyrite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, micaceous, foliated aggregates habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Utah, Michigan, New Mexico — start trip planning there.
Common questions
How do you identify specularite?+
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Can I find specularite in the United States?+
How much is specularite worth?+
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Find specularite on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
