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This Specimen has been sold.
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9.8" Wide, Free-Standing, Iridescent Labradorite - Madagascar
This is a beautiful, 9.8" wide piece of Labradorite from Madagascar. One side has been polished, while the other sides are in a natural state. The base of the piece has been cut flat so that it stands up on its own without the use of a stand. This labradorite has a different personality when viewed from different angles.
Labradorite is a feldspar mineral most often found in mafic igneous rocks. Some specimens of labradorite exhibit what is called a "Schiller effect"; a strong play of iridescent blue, green, red, orange, and yellow colors. Labradorite is so well known for these spectacular displays of color that the phenomenon is also known as labradorescence. Specimens with high quality labradorescence are often polished and used as gemstones.
The labradorescence is not caused by the colors breflecting on the surface of the specimen. Instead, light enters the stone, hits a twinning crystal lattice surface within the stone, and reflects from that. The color seen is the color of light reflected from that twinning surface. Different twinning surfaces within the stone reflect different colors of light. Light reflecting from different twinning surfaces in various parts of the stone can give the stone a multi-colored appearance.
Labradorite is named after Labrador, Canada, where it was first found. Today, the most prolific deposits for most commercially available labradorite occur in Madagascar and Russia.
The labradorescence is not caused by the colors breflecting on the surface of the specimen. Instead, light enters the stone, hits a twinning crystal lattice surface within the stone, and reflects from that. The color seen is the color of light reflected from that twinning surface. Different twinning surfaces within the stone reflect different colors of light. Light reflecting from different twinning surfaces in various parts of the stone can give the stone a multi-colored appearance.
Labradorite is named after Labrador, Canada, where it was first found. Today, the most prolific deposits for most commercially available labradorite occur in Madagascar and Russia.
