Helenite: Classy Glass
To say that Helenite had an explosive beginning as a gemstone is an understatement. Helenite is a man-made gemstone that resulted from volcanic ash and rocks. A wondrous occurrence in nature, the fury of a volcanic eruption is an awesome thing to behold (from a safe distance, of course), and the beauty that has been created from it—Helenite—is a fantastic thing to hold.
I’m sure many of you who were around at the time of Mount St. Helens’ eruption in May, 1980, remember the news accounts of the devastation and destruction that resulted after the volcano roared to life and spread its fury. Located in the USA’s state of Washington, Mount St. Helens’ eruption left an aftermath of plenty of volcanic ash and rocks. It was during the cleanup of that event that Helenite was born.
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Workers were working on cleaning things up, uncovering equipment and machinery. As they were cutting metal, they noticed the heat from their tools was having an odd effect on the volcanic ash. It appeared as though the heated ash was pooling together to form chunks that looked like glass. Intrigued by this, scientists recreated the scenario in laboratory environments, and the result was Helenite. It was given its name in honor of Mount St. Helens.
Helenite is created by crushing volcanic rock and fusing it at temperatures as high as 2700 degrees Fahrenheit. True Helenite will be some vivid shade of green or red in color. Due to the coloration, Helenite is viewed as an inexpensive alternate to emerald, ruby, or garnet gemstones.
Helenite has also been referred to as emerald obsidianite, ruby obsidianite, Mount St. Helens obsidian, and Gaia Stone. Obsidian is glass that is formed due to rapid cooling of lava, and as such, has no crystal growth. It is a primary component needed for the production of Helenite. Helenite is not obsidian, it is simply glass.
Since Helenite is man-made from volcanic ash and rocks, it is not rare at all. There are plenty of ingredients available for those who create Helenite in the labs. This means great news for consumers…it’s not expensive!
Helenite is an easy item for cutters. They have no difficulty at all with cutting, shaping and polishing it for use in jewelry. Of course, since Helenite is actually glass, it should be worn during non-strenuous activities.
It is almost as though the planet Earth wanted everyone to have Helenite. Born from remnants of rocks that were possibly twenty miles within, the Earth spit them out for us to use and enjoy. Normally, spit wouldn’t be so enjoyable, but then again, spit happens. Here is nature (used and altered by man) in your face…put that (altered) nature in its place. Adorn yourselves with the resulting jewelry creations.
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