Labradorite Phenomena All Entries
THE OPTICAL PHENOMENA OF LABRADORITE
At Rare Earth Gallery we constantly get questions about the striking iridescence and color shift of this unique stone. All being valid questions due to the rarity and distinct beauty of labradorite’s elegant blue-green iridescent shifts! Labradorite’s fascinating schiller or metallic luster is believed to be due to the presence of different compositions as well as minute inclusions of limenite, rutile, and possible magnetite, which cause the diffraction of light. According to a Canadian Eskimo legend, the northern lights were once trapped in the rocks along the coast of Labrador, and then a wandering Eskimo warrior found them and freed most of the lights with a mighty blow of his spear. Some of the lights were still caught within the stone, however, and thus we have the beautiful mineral known as labradorite.