Types of stones used in contemporary sculptures from Zimbabwe

Artists carve their works from a wide range of stones indigenous to Zimbabwe. The value of a sculpture is influenced by many things, one of which is the hardness of the stone, determined by the Mohs hardness scale. A harder stone presents a greater level of carving difficulty, requiring a greater amount of time and expertise.

Verdite:
This semi-precious stone is the hardest stone carved by the artists . This stone, with beautiful green and brown striations, is becoming rare and is usually carved by the more experienced sculptors.
Mohs scale: 7.0-9.0 

Springstone:
This is an extremely hard and dense stone. It is very dark and rich looking and polishes to a very high gloss.
Mohs scale: 7.0-8.0

Butter Jade:
This lovely yellow/beige stone with dark striations is becoming rare. The supply of butter jade has decreased considerably, thus increasing its value and desirability.
Mohs scale: 6.0-7.0 

Lapidolite:
An incredibly beautiful stone of light or dark purple.

Leopard Stone:
This is a fairly hard stone with an interesting pattern of dark and light green mottling.
Mohs scale: 6.5-7.0

Cobalt:
This lovely stone falls in the mid range of the hardness scale. It has yellow, white or orange/brown markings
Mohs scale: 5.0-6.0

Opalstone:
This smooth textured stone with milky light colored greens at times has a mottled appearance. On the mohs hardness scale this stone registers in the mid range. Yet it can be polished to a high finish like the harder stone. This quality makes this stone one of the favorites of the artists.
Mohs scale: 5.0-5.5

Serpentine:
The most common stone in Zimbabwe, is available in a range of hardness and a variety of colors.
Mohs scale: 4.0-5.0

Soapstone:
This is a soft stone found world wide. Zimbabwe produces a high quality, dense soapstone in various colors.