Diopside Genuine - Diopside Véritable

Diopside Genuine is a rich gemstone green you'll always reach for. Also known as the Russian Emerald, this mineral is usually seen in fine jewellery. We are proud to be the first to offer it as a watercolour. Exquisite in hue, it brushes out evenly from deep bottle green through clear Kelly green to the palest mint. The chromium-rich stone from which it is ground is green with brownish inclusions. Hints of the brown mineral settle out in washes, adding an earthy nuance perfect for landscape work.

• Pigment name: Diopside Genuine - Diopside Véritable
• Lightfastness: 1 - Excellent
• Transparency: Transparent
• Granulating: Granulating
• Staining: 2 - Low Staining
• Series: 3

The DANIEL SMITH PrimaTeks are gorgeous watercolours that mix beautifully with other colours. Since their introduction, artists worldwide have been thrilled to paint with these unique mineral watercolours, and you will be, too!

What are PrimaTek Watercolours?

DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek watercolours are unique paints made with mineral pigments; many are semi-precious minerals mined from the earth, ground finely, and transformed into beautiful PrimaTek watercolours for artists everywhere!

There are 37 exclusive DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours made from minerals such as amethyst, bloodstone, and jadeite. The raw mineral specimens that DANIEL SMITH finds worldwide are ground into pigments, mixed with gum arabic, and milled to create those gorgeous watercolour paints! Nearly all PrimaTeks exhibit granulating properties, giving those watercolours wonderful texture and depth, which some artists have described as "magical."

People have been making paints with earth mineral pigments like ochre in yellows, reds, and browns for thousands of years.

While many natural pigments lean towards the "earthy" colours we know, some are unique to DANIEL SMITH, such as Hematite Genuine, Bloodstone Genuine, and Tiger's Eye Genuine. The term "Genuine," following the mineral name for the watercolour, usually indicates that the paint colour is made solely from that particular mineral pigment. When made into paints, nearly all these minerals exhibit beautiful granulation, providing artists with additional painting effects. A few have a hint of sparkle or sheen from the crushed crystals, such as Amethyst, Kyanite, Red Fuchsite, Sugilite, and both Bronzite and Burnt Bronzite Genuine watercolours.

Many DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours are made from minerals that produce vibrant, luminous colours, such as Amethyst Genuine, Serpentine Genuine, and Rhodonite Genuine. Most artists are surprised that "rocks" can yield such brilliant colours in watercolours!

DANIEL SMITH has a mineralogist who, like Indiana Jones, searches the world, sometimes in remote locations, to find minerals with the potential to become DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours. Once he finds the raw mineral, the DANIEL SMITH chemist rigorously tests it for colour capacity and reliability, how the mineral performs as paint, its lightfastness, and more. Once a mineral proves itself to meet DANIEL SMITH's high standards and what artists expect, it is made into a watercolour that will delight artists everywhere.

DANIEL SMITH breaks down the minerals from large rocks called "massives" into smaller rocks to convert the minerals into watercolours. He then breaks them down and removes impurities until the minerals are ground into pigments. Once the pigments are ready, the DANIEL SMITH manufacturing team mixes them with gum arabic. The mixture is then put on a 3-roll mill and, after some time and tests, is made into DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek watercolours. The milling process for each watercolour is specific to that particular mineral pigment; mill (or grind) the minerals too finely, and the colour becomes dull.

The key is to ensure that each mineral pigment's particle size is large enough to refract the most light for the best colour and small enough to be used as watercolour. Every batch of watercolour is tested to meet DANIEL SMITH's standards for that particular watercolour, and the tests are maintained to ensure the colour consistency that artists expect.