The balls of disthene and Ruby show a color spectrum of yellow, pink and green tones and have a diameter of 6mm. The entire strand of disthene is about 40cm long.
The name disthene is derived from the Greek "this sthénos" (twofold strength, twofold power). This describes a quite unusual property of the Disthene: It shows - depending on the direction in the crystal - two very strongly deviating hardnesses (so-called hardness anisotropy). Spellings such as Distin, Disthin or Disten have not become established in the retail and wholesale trade.