What makes malachite so mesmerizing

Greek philosopher Theophrastus damned it with faint praise in terming it “pseudo-emerald.” But anyone who has seen photographs of the stunning Malachite Room in the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, designed in 1839 as a place where Nicholas I’s wife, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna could receive state guests, knows that there’s nothing pseudo- about this striking and immediately recognizable copper carbonate mineral. Even on a small scale, the intricate rings of various tints of rich green make malachite among the most stunning and sui generis of …