All About Gypsum – Uses, Properties, Color, and Worth

Gypsum is a mineral comprised of calcium sulfate dihydrate.  Gypsum is considered an evaporate and forms when evaporation of water allows oxygen to bond with the surrounding sulfur to create sulfate.  The sulfate will then bond with surrounding calcium and water to create the final product gypsum.

What is Gypsum used for?

Gypsum is used as fertilizer to help improve soil for agricultural use. It is used for building materials such as plasters, paints, and drywall’s. Gypsum is also used in chalk, cosmetics, drugs, and even in hygiene products.

Sculpting with gypsum has been around for some time.  When gypsum is heated to very high temperatures you produce what is called “Plaster of Paris”, or gypsum plaster.  This material can be placed, or cast, into molds to dry and then later sculpted. 

Common Gypsum Uses

Gypsum uses are many. Here are some of the common things gypsum is used for:

Hygiene products – Gypsum is used in toothpastes and shampoos.  It can also end up in your hair products to help with that superior hold as it is very good at thickening.

Food Products – Gypsum is not considered harmful to humans as a consumable.  There are no noted long term effects from the consumption of gypsum.  In fact you can find it used in many food products and it has also been used as a calcium substitute. Do make note that you would not want to inhale gypsum dust, as inhalation of most materials can be harmful to the lungs.

Soil – Since gypsum contains naturally occurring elements of calcium and sulfate, adding it to soil will help improve and decrease the hardness of clays and compact soils.

Cement – Gypsum plays an important part in the setting of cement.  Adding this to the mixture of cement will help control the rate at which the cement hardens.

Specimens of gypsum can be purchased and displayed in homes and other locations as the beauty of the mineral in its natural form can certainly catch your eye.   Some people believe that gypsum in the form of selenite can have powers of good luck and protection when carried or worn, and can even strengthen the memory.

Gypsum hardness comes in at around 1.5 to 2.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness. If you have specimens of gypsum you will need to take some precaution in handling them. I have seen many kids get what is known as a “gypsum wand” or “selenite wand” only to break it very shortly after purchase.

Gypsum is not commonly used as jewelry. Some will cut out smaller gypsum stone crystals and fix them to earnings and necklaces. Some will just use a large chunk of gypsum and wire wrap it to a necklace.

What is the Color of Gypsum?

The common color of gypsum is colorless, or clear, to varieties of whites and grays.  There are some instances where the gypsum color can be yellow, blue, pink, tan, and brown to reddish brown.  These other colors are due to the presence of other elements available when the gypsum formed.

What is Gypsum worth?

Gypsum worth is little as it is abundant and plentiful around the globe.  Gypsum price for a specimen will typically be around $10 or less and will increase slightly depending on size. The real value and worth of gypsum comes into sight as it plays a very important role in our society today.  

Ornamental gypsum might be a good place to start when looking into some sort of value to be placed on gypsum.  A specimen of gypsum in its natural form can also be quite cheap.  

Selenite wands can range from $5 to $20.  A loose desert rose or two can run you about the same price, however a large cluster of desert roses can get into the hundreds of USD very easily.

For the cost of gypsum jewelry, the price of the stones or crystals can be fairly cheap and your main cost will come with the precious metal of the jewelry.

When sculpting molds are created from gypsum it can take a very skilled sculpture hours to carve and create detail into those molds. With long hours put into the sculpting, you can bet the higher the cost of the finished work will be.

By far one of the most astonishing purchases available for gypsum I saw one day on the internet, was a gypsum hanging light fixture. The price of this gypsum lighting was over one thousand USD. I would likely not make such an expensive purchase, but very beautiful it was.

Taking Care of Selenite

Selenite is a big favorite for kids. Often called a selenite wand, these beautiful forms of gypsum are commonly purchased for children. In that, there are a few important things to note to help you take care of selenite or any form of gypsum for that matter.

Selenite should not be in the sun for long periods of time. Prolonged sunlight will cause brittleness, loss of color, and loss of its silky sheen. Selenite should not be kept in the sun longer than 1 or 2 hours.

Selenite can get wet, however you should dry it off to prevent damage. If immersed in water for too long, selenite will be irreparably damaged. It is always best to keep water away from selenite and other forms of gypsum.

Remember, selenite is brittle and not very strong. Chances are if you buy this for a younger child, they will almost break it immediately! If you buy selenite for your kids, keep this in mind. Luckily this mineral is fairly inexpensive

Gypsum Similarities to Other Minerals

Gypsum vs Quartz. At times gypsum can be confused with quartz. Gypsum and quartz can look very similar. Quartz is much harder of a mineral and has a very different chemical formula. The crystal system of gypsum and quartz is very different. Some very distinguishing types quartz crystals that are far from the appearance of gypsum are amethyst and citrine.

Gypsum vs Calcite. The chemical formula between calcite and gypsum is very different even though they both contain calcium. Both look very similar to each other. Calcite is slightly harder on the Mohs scale of hardness. Calcite has a very unique capability of being able to fluorescence as well.

Gypsum vs Selenite. These two are relatively the same mineral. The main difference between selenite and typical gypsum is in the texture and how it was formed. Selenite is formed in a fibrous looking form which makes it very distinguishable.

Gypsum vs Limestone. Limestone is more of a rock that contains minerals within it. Minerals that are most common in limestone are calcite and aragonite. The appearance between the two can make it slightly hard at times to tell the difference. For the most part though, the appearance of limestone looks very different than that of gypsum.

Gypsum vs Perlite. Perlite is not a very well known mineral but at times thought to look like gypsum. Perlite is a type of volcanic glass that contains water within it. The chemical formula of perlite is different from that of gypsum. Perlite, in the majority of instances, contains silica oxide in similar to quartz.

Where is Gypsum found?

Gypsum is found all over the world where the right combination of elements were available and evaporation occurred.  Gypsum is found where climate changed to evaporated larger bodies of water, leaving behind condensed concentrations of sulfur and calcium in sedimentary beds to allow gypsum to be formed…

With that, layers of sediment in many cases formed on top of the layer of gypsum.   The process of this layering over time can start all over again layer after layer.

Though gypsum is typically formed as flattened one directional plane crystals, varieties of this formation can be found.  As an example, you can find rose-like formations called Desert Rose, also known as a gypsum rose.  Desert rose forms in a circular array of flattened gypsum crystal plates.  Grains of sand, and at times iron, will be available in its construction when desert rose is formed.

Additionally selenite, the most popular form of gypsum, can form as fibrous silky crystals called “satin spar”.  Gypsum can even form as fine grained crystals called alabaster which is commonly used in ornamental applications, or carvings, due to its soft and translucent nature.