Round 1 Match 16
It’s a gem with utilitarian purposes against a utilitarian mineral with gem qualities for this match.
Gemstone Topaz is a hard, flashy gemstone that is often honey yellow, imperial pink, or rarely deep blue. Less colourful crystals are often used in glass and ceramics manufacture, or as a refectory material for steel manufacturing, retaining strength under heat. The gem crystallizes in fluid, volatile-rich magma, particularly along the fractures and cavities in igneous rocks. These pegmatite minerals take the motto “Go big or go home” seriously, forming some of the largest gemstone crystals in the world, with some of the most famous specimens weighing more than a teenager.
Pyroxene-group mineral Spodumene is a fascinating blend of workhorse and beauty. Named “burnt to ashes” for its opaque ash-grey appearance when refined as a lithium ore, this pleochroic mineral can change colour with orientation. Rare gem-quality crystals can also be a brilliant green, pink, purple, or lilac. The largest crystal ever found is roughly the dimensions of a Right Whale.
In a battle of the boulders, these minerals are ready to rumble. Which one do you prize?
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