I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO say more than I’m the defining mineral for 5 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, and the hands of 20,000 knowing jewelers should reach for the sky … but then I’d have to stop talking about myself and I am a fascinating character — one with a real hunger to be all things to all people. I’m used to clean up nuclear waste, to fluoridate water, and to manufacture fertilizer. I am in your teeth and bones and while I am only infrequently used as a gemstone, I have been mistaken for much more valuable minerals such as olivine, peridot and beryl. Hence the Greek origins of my name — I am the deceiver.
Who am I?