saphir d'eaun.
A translucent blue variety of cordierite occurring in Sri Lanka; = water sapphire n.In French the term was originally used by mineralogists to refer to blue quartz.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > gem or precious stone > water sapphire > [noun]
saphir d'eau1820
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > cyclosilicates > [noun] > cordierite
water sapphire1698
dichroite1810
iolite1810
cordierite1814
peliom1820
saphir d'eau1820
weissite1836
indialite1954
1820 R. Jameson Syst. Mineral. (ed. 3) I. 174 The sapphire d'eau of collectors.
1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 418/1 The Sapphire d'Eau or Luchssapphir of the jewellers.
1897 L. Fletcher Introd. Study Mineral. 106 Cordierite is a silicate of magnesium, iron and aluminium; its transparent variety is the Saphir d'eau of jewellery.
1925 E. H. Kraus & E. F. Holden Gems & Gem Materials ii. 165 Ceylon is the most important locality, and the gems from that country have sometimes been called saphir d'eau, or ‘water sapphire’.
1936 H. P. Whitlock Story of Gems 175 Iolite. This silicate of magnesium, aluminium and iron is better known as water-sapphire (saphir d'eau).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1982; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1820