Unakite

First discovered in the United States in the Unakas mountains of North Carolina from which it gets its name, unakite is an altered granite composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote, and generally colorless quartz. It exists in various shades of green and pink and is usually mottled in appearance. A good quality unakite is considered a semiprecious stone; it will take a good polish and is often used in jewelry as beads or cabochons and other lapidary work such as eggs, spheres and animal carvings. It is also referred to as epidotized or epidote granite. In some of the Blue Ridge occurrences, an epidotized augen gneiss is present exhibiting foliation structures.