You’ve heard of fool’s gold until now. Marcasite is the white form of fools gold and it was especially fashionable in Victorian times. Jewelers usually describe marcasite as a bronze color, its designs usually resembling an “Art Deco” period. You’ll generally see marcasite jewelry shining with a vintage estate look.

Marcasite is a mineral formed from iron sulfate. It is occasionally called white pyrite, but is not pyrite. To further confuse matters, most gems called marcasite, are in reality pyrite. True marcasite disintegrates quickly and does not keep well in gem form.