Labradorite

Overview

Labradorite is a feldspar mineral known for labradorescence, a flash of blue, green, gold, or sometimes orange and purple that appears when the stone is tilted in the light. The rest of the stone is usually a muted grey, greenish-grey, or dark charcoal, so the color seems to appear from inside it.

Origin and Name

Labradorite is named after Labrador, Canada, where it was documented in the late 1700s. It is also mined in Madagascar, Finland, Russia, India, and the USA. The Finnish variety, Spectrolite, is prized for showing nearly the full color spectrum.

An Inuit legend says the Northern Lights were once trapped inside the rocks along the Labrador coast, and a warrior freed most of them, leaving some colors still glowing in the stone. This is why labradorite is often called the "Stone of the Aurora".