Iolite:
Basic facts:
Iolite: Also known as Water Sapphire
Origin: India, Madagascar & Sri Lanka
Colours: Violet Blue, light blue & yellow/grey
Family: Cordierite: (Mg, Fe)2Al4Si5O18
Hardness: 7 – 7.5
Refractive Index: 1.54 – 1.58
Specific Gravity: 2.58 – 2.66
Treatment: Not treated
The name Iolite comes from the Greek word Ios, meaning violet. Iolite is a transparent, violet blue, light blue or yellow gray gemstone. A pleochroic paperclip (different colors appear when the gemstone is viewed from different angles), Iolite will display many colors in one and the same stone.
Myths and legends
According to ancient Scandinavian legends, Norse navigators used thin pieces of iolite (their magical sun stone) as the world's first polarizing filter. When they looked through an iolite lens, they could determine the position of the sun on cloudy days and navigate their boats safely. Therefore, iolite is also known as viking compass or viking stone. The story of the Viking compass sparked the curiosity of a 10-year-old boy who happened to be the son of the chief navigator at SAS (Scandinavian Airline System), Jörgen Jensen. This "sunstone" described in Norse legends sounded similar to the compass used by his father at higher latitudes where a magnetic compass is unreliable. His father's compass was equipped with a polarizing filter that allows a navigator to find the sun, even when it is behind the clouds, with light polarized by the atmosphere.
Fascinated by his son's observation, Jensen contacted the Danish archaeologist Thorkild Ramskau, who immediately recognized its scientific implications. Ramskau collected minerals found in Scandinavia whose molecules are aligned in the same way as the crystals in a polarizing filter and then put this to the test. Ramskau accompanied Jörgen Jensen on a flight to Greenland and Ramskau kept track of the sun with a piece of Iolite, while Jensen used the plane's compass. Amazingly, his observations were within 2.5 degrees of the Sun's true position!
Iolite facts
Iolite is a popular and interesting gemstone. It has a rather blue-violet color similar to tanzanite and has also been compared to pale blue sapphires. It is for this reason that it is sometimes called water sapphire.
An iolite ring or pendant is probably the best way to showcase this gemstone's unique color, as it is a durable stone well suited for everyday wear.
Pleochroism (different colors appearing when viewed from different angles) is very noticeable in Iolite and is seen as three different shades in the same stone. When looking at iolite, the colors can be violet blue, yellow gray and light blue all at once.
Basic facts:
Iolite: Also known as Water Sapphire
Origin: India, Madagascar & Sri Lanka
Colours: Violet Blue, light blue & yellow/grey
Family: Cordierite: (Mg, Fe)2Al4Si5O18
Hardness: 7 – 7.5
Refractive Index: 1.54 – 1.58
Specific Gravity: 2.58 – 2.66
Treatment: Not treated
The name Iolite comes from the Greek word Ios, meaning violet. Iolite is a transparent, violet blue, light blue or yellow gray gemstone. A pleochroic paperclip (different colors appear when the gemstone is viewed from different angles), Iolite will display many colors in one and the same stone.
Myths and legends
According to ancient Scandinavian legends, Norse navigators used thin pieces of iolite (their magical sun stone) as the world's first polarizing filter. When they looked through an iolite lens, they could determine the position of the sun on cloudy days and navigate their boats safely. Therefore, iolite is also known as viking compass or viking stone. The story of the Viking compass sparked the curiosity of a 10-year-old boy who happened to be the son of the chief navigator at SAS (Scandinavian Airline System), Jörgen Jensen. This "sunstone" described in Norse legends sounded similar to the compass used by his father at higher latitudes where a magnetic compass is unreliable. His father's compass was equipped with a polarizing filter that allows a navigator to find the sun, even when it is behind the clouds, with light polarized by the atmosphere.
Fascinated by his son's observation, Jensen contacted the Danish archaeologist Thorkild Ramskau, who immediately recognized its scientific implications. Ramskau collected minerals found in Scandinavia whose molecules are aligned in the same way as the crystals in a polarizing filter and then put this to the test. Ramskau accompanied Jörgen Jensen on a flight to Greenland and Ramskau kept track of the sun with a piece of Iolite, while Jensen used the plane's compass. Amazingly, his observations were within 2.5 degrees of the Sun's true position!
Iolite facts
Iolite is a popular and interesting gemstone. It has a rather blue-violet color similar to tanzanite and has also been compared to pale blue sapphires. It is for this reason that it is sometimes called water sapphire.
An iolite ring or pendant is probably the best way to showcase this gemstone's unique color, as it is a durable stone well suited for everyday wear.
Pleochroism (different colors appearing when viewed from different angles) is very noticeable in Iolite and is seen as three different shades in the same stone. When looking at iolite, the colors can be violet blue, yellow gray and light blue all at once.