Top 10 Gemstones and Precious Metals with a Cubic / Isometric Crystal System

Diamonds, gold and silver are the most prominent members of the Cubic (Isometric) Crystal System and that's enough to make us pay attention to this group.

Cubic crystal system is where the unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is a very simple shape and is one of the most common shapes found in crystals and minerals.

The Top Ten

1 Diamond

Diamond is the only gem material comprised of a single chemical element: pure carbon, like graphite. But the diamond atoms have been forced into a compact, 3-dimensional structure by the high pressures during its formation. Thus diamond is much harder.

2 Gold

3 Silver

4 Spinel

Spinel is called the daughter of ruby (but they have different crystal systems and ruby isn't on this list).
Spinel is a very hard gem, with hardness at 8/10.

5 Demantoid

The cubic crystal shape is visible in the image. Demantoid is a member of the garnet group of minerals.

6 Garnet

You can see the cubic shape of its crystals in this image

7 Pyrite

Sometimes called "fools gold".

8 Fluorite

9 Sphalerite

10 Sodalite

BAdd New Item