Diopside is cut and sometimes sold in Turin and in Chamouny as a gem stone, but no great quantity of this mineral is used for ornamental purposes.

The hardness of diopside is 5 to 6; specific gravity, 2.9 to 3.5; lustre, vitreous to greasy. It is transparent to translucent, brittle, cannot be dissolved by acids, and melts before the blow-pipe. It is composed of:

This mineral is grayish-white to pearl-gray, and greenish-white to greenish-gray. The best green transparent specimens are from the Mussa Alp and Zillerthal, but it is also found in the Urals and the United States.