Ring Cordierite natural stone

Cordierite is a mineral common in sedimentary rocks and is also found in igneous rocks. They appear in the form of granular or dense clusters, rarely forms columnar-like crystals.

Depending on the angle of view, its color varies from blue-violet to pale gray-yellow. The most common type of cordierite is a rectangular step cut. When processing a mineral, the most important thing is the direction of the cut to bring out the full range of colors. Cordierite is a valued collector's and jewelery stone.

Among other names of cordierite with which this mineral was described, it is worth mentioning the two-color 'dichroite' or the iolite from the Greek 'ios' of vials.

Cordierite was isolated as a stand-alone mineral in 1813 and named after the French mineralogist Louis Cordier, who was the first geologist to describe the mineral, even though it was previously a known and sought-after gemstone. In Sri Lanka, it was considered a variety of sapphire, while the lighter varieties of cordierite were known as water sapphires.

The thin cordierite flakes were used by sailors as polarizing lenses to determine the exact position of the sun, even under overcast skies, known as the Viking compass.

Occurrences: Bolivia, Brazil, Finland, Canada, Germany, United States, Sweden. The best quality stones come from Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar and Burma.