THE “EILAT STONE”

The national stone of Israel, “Eilat stone,” also known as “King Solomon’s stone,” consists of intergrowths of blue-green masses of azurite, malachite, chrysocolla and turquoise. Specimens and polished cabochons of Eilat stone have been popular souvenirs of Israel since the nation was founded in 1948. But the specimen supply ended when the last commercial copper mine closed in the 1980s. Since then, much Eilat stone sold in Israel and abroad is similarly colored material from the copper mines of Africa and Arizona.