In sunlight, it appears almost emerald green, while in artificial incandescent light it appears a violet-red. Color is yellow, green and brown. Luster is vitreous. Crystals are transparent to translucent. Crystals tend to be blocky and are often distorted by twinning effects that sometimes produce a psuedo-hexagonal cyclic twin.
Cleavage is fair in one direction and poor in another.
Fracture is conchoidal. Streak is white. Associated Minerals include garnet , mica and feldspars . Notable Occurrences include the Ural Mountains, Russia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Burma. Best Field Indicators include possible presence of twinned crystals, color, great hardness, and poor cleavage.