Coin strand, Hypersthene, 10mm

The round, flat Hypersthene coins have a diameter of 10mm and are approx. 5mm thick; the stringed beads are 40cm long in total.

In gemstone healing, Hypersthene (ferro-enstatite) represents the principle of balance and equilibrium between rest and activity.

Hypersthene got its name from the Greek "hyper" (over) and "stheos" (strength); this refers to its greater hardness compared to the closely related Bronzite. Spellings such as hyperstene or hyperstehne are therefore incorrect.

In 1988, Hypersthene was renamed Ferrosilite by the International Mineralogical Association. Synonyms for Hypersthene are Augite-Bronzite, Iron Anthophyllite, Iron Enstatite, Ferroanthophyllite, Ficinite, Labradorblende, Paulite, Schiller Spar and Szaboite as well as Hyperstein.

The mineral Hypersthene is also called black jade, as mineralogically it falls into exactly the same group as true Jadeite jade. Both are members of the pyroxene group. While Hypersthene forms the iron-rich mixture of enstatite and ferrosilite and belongs to the Mg-Fe pyroxenes, Jadeite is counted among the sodium pyroxenes.