::IOLITE::

IOLITE

HEALING PROPERTIES:
A highly revered stone in the Ayurvedic tradition. One of the best stones for activating the third eye and crown chakras. Stimulates psychic awareness and promotes accuracy in intuitive pursuits. Enhances leadership ability, power, inner strength, self-confidence and executive ability.

PHYSICAL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES:

Iolite (also called Dichroite or Cordierite) is a transparent, violet-blue, light blue, blue, rich blue-violet stone. It is a blue silicate mineral that occurs as crystals or grains in igneous rocks, only as a result of contamination of the magma by aluminous sediment. Its chemical composition is Magnesium Aluminum Silicate (Mg₂Al₃O).
Iolite has a rather extraordinary optical property. The gemstone changes colors depending upon which angle it is viewed from.

Iolite

Chemical Formula

Fe₂O₃

Hardness

7.00

Specific Gravity

2.63

Refractive Index

1.53 - 1.55

ORIGIN HISTORY:
The name Iolite is derived from the Greek "los", meaning violet. It was also known as the Vikings' compass, due to it's ability to determine the direction of the sun on overcast days. When the legendary Viking mariners sailed the wide ocean, they used thin pieces of iolite as the world's first polarizing filter. Looking through an iolite lens, they could determine the exact position of the sun, and navigate safely. The natural mineral has little commercial use. When clear, iolite is cut as a gem.

GEOGRAPHICAL DEPOSITS: