in Arizona and elsewhere. At Trumbull in Connecticut and Kimpu-san in Japan large crystals of scheelite completely altered to wolframite have been found: those from Japan have been called “reinite.” It was mined until 1990 at King Island, Australia, Glenorchy in Central Otago and Macraes Flat in North Otago and also at The Golden Bar mine at Dead Horse Creek during World War I in Nelson, New Zealand. There is a high concentration of Scheelite in Northeast of Brazil, mainly in the Currais Novos mine in Rio Grande do Norte State. One of the world's largest Scheelite mining companies is in Luoyang, China. History Scheelite was first described in 1751 for an occurrence in Mount Bispbergs klack, Säter, Dalarna, Sweden, and named for Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786). Owing to its unusual heaviness, it had been given the name tungsten by the Swedes, meaning “heavy stone.” The name was later used to describe the metal, while the ore itself was given the name scheelerz or scheelite. Synthetics Although it is now uncommon as a diamond imitation (much more convincing products, like cubic zirconia and moissanite have long since superseded it), synthetic scheelite is occasionally offered as natural scheelite, and collectors may thus be fooled into paying high prices for them. Gemologists distinguish natural scheelite from synthetic material mainly by microscopic examination: Natural material is very seldom without internal growth features and inclusions (imperfections), while synthetic material is usually very clean. Distinctly artificial curved striae and clouds of minute gas bubbles may also be observed in synthetic scheelite. The visible absorption spectrum of scheelite, as seen by a hand-held (direct-vision) spectroscope, may also be of use: most natural stones show a number of faint absorption lines in the yellow region of the spectrum (~585 nm) due to praseodymium and neodymium trace impurities. Conversely, synthetic scheelite is often without such a spectrum. Some synthetics may however be doped with neodymium or other rare-earth elements, but the spectrum produced is unlike that of natural stones. In popular culture Scheelite figures in the manga series Dr. Stone, as a precursor to tungsten, and for its fluorescence. Notes References Anderson, B. W., Jobbins, E. A. (Ed.) (1990). Gem testing. Butterworth & Co Ltd, Great Britain. Calcium minerals Tungstate minerals Gemstones Phosphors and scintillators Laser gain media Tetragonal minerals Minerals in space group 88 Luminescent minerals