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Gemstone Directory Iolite | Iolite |
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Iolite comes from the Greek word 'ios' meaning violet. It is the gemstone variety of the mineral cordierite and has an unusual blue to violet colour which has been compared to a sapphire but with a purplish tint. One of the most notable characteristics of the mineral cordierite is its strong pleochroism or colour changing ability. When viewed from one direction iolite may appear to be blue or blue-violet, but as it's rotated, its colour appears to be yellowish grey to light blue. Many other gemstones are pleochroic, however unlike iolite most have such minimal colour change that it's not noticeable by the human eye. The main two minerals which are extremely pleochroismic and display visible colour change that can be easily seen are cordierite (the gemstone iolite) and tanzanite. Tanzanite has similar colour to iolite but it is the gemstone variety of the mineral zoisite. The two can be easily confused because of their colour similarity and the fact they are both highly pleochroismic. The word cordierite came from the French mineralogist Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier, but it was known and used as a gemstone in Sri Lanka long before Cordier accurately described it in 1809. Cordierite was identified as a specific mineral and named as iolite in 1813. The pleochroismic effect of iolite helped Leif Ericson and the other legendary viking explorers who went far out into the Atlantic Ocean to determine the exact position of the sun and thus navigate safely to the new world and back. Iolite is mined in India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Myanmar. It is likely that the vikings mined iolite from deposits in Norway and Greenland. Iolite is a vision stone that clears thought forms, opening intuition and aids in understanding and releasing the causes of addiction as well as helping to express your true self, free from the expectations of others. It releases discord within relationships and encourages taking responsibility for yourself and overcoming co dependency within a partnership. Iolite creates a strong constitution, ridding the body of fatty deposits and diminishes the effect of alcohol and supports detoxification and regeneration of the liver. Other healing properties are assisting with the treatment of malaria and fevers, killing bacteria and aiding the pituitary, sinuses and respiratory systems. Iolite is also believed to alleviate migraines. Iolite is the anniversary gemstone for the 21st year of marriage and is graded 7 to 7.5 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness. The following links offer further reading on iolite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iolite
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