August 2008 Gemstone of the Month: Labradorite

Source: Labradorite was first found on the shores of the Canadian province of Labrador in 1770, which is why it is called Labradorite!

Today the largest sources of labradorite are Madagascar, located off the southern coast of Africa, and Canada. There is also a very rare and unique source of a special type of sunstone labradorite found in the United States, in the state of Oregon.

You can see a specimen of rough labradorite below.

Your Labradorite came all the way from the island nation of Madagascar.

 

Labradorite is a member of the feldspar family, one of the largest families of gemstones on earth. In fact, feldspar is one of the main ingredients of the rocks on the earth's surface. The pink crystals you see in a lot of the granite floors and building walls are actually feldspar crystals.

The feldspar group also gives us a lot of beautiful gemstones. These include moonstone, amazonite, and labradorite. The fun part about labradorite is that shows a very pretty rainbow of colors that is called labradorescence. This is a very special optical property that is named just for labradorite.

 

At left you see this optical property of labradorescence. You can see from the picture that the rock is normally just a brown color. But when the light hits it just right it reflects a very pretty blue and yellow color. This blue and yellow color reflection is the labradorescence of labradorite.

To get the best view of the labradorite the jeweler will cut the gemstone as a cabochon, which means a dome shaped top as you see below rather than cutting facets on the stone.

 

Here you see a labradorite under 20x magnification. Across the top of the stone you can see the light blue and yellow colors in the otherwise gray colored gemstone.

The best way to see this labradorescence in your labradorite is to hold it under a desk lamp and rotate it slowly until you can see the labradorescence colors. The colors will appear to move and change just a little as you move the stone. But if you hold it under the light and move the stone around you will see the labradorescence in your labradorite.

 

 

Here you see a labradorite set in a ring. You can see the brownish gray color of the stone with the blue labradorescence playing across the top of the ring. This is why the stone has to be cut in the oval cabochon shape to bring out the best play of labradorescence of the labradorite.

Here is a picture of what your labradorite may look like. Here you see the gray gemstone crystal that has been tumbled smooth so you can see the labradorescence. The play of colors across the top of the stone, and the growth lines of the gemstone are very easy to see. Have you looked at your labradorite under a desk lamp and found the labradorescence?

 

Here is a fun look at a very rare type of labradorite. This is an Oregon Sunstone Labradorite from the state of Oregon in the United States. This is a very rare labradorite because it is clear, what we call transparent. This labradorite is cut with facets and has a star facet cut into the back. This labradorite is rare because the red color you see if due to a lot of copper inside the stone, just like the pennies in your pocket! The Oregon Sunstone Labradorite is one of the most rare gemstones on earth, and is a labradorite just like the one you received this month. It just shows us how many wonderful possibilities there are when we start studying gemstones.

Find a Jeweler in Your Region to get your Gemstone of the Month for Kids!

Get your Gemstone of the Month from the International School of Gemology

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