Cordierite var: Iolite (rare locality)

Item Description

This specimen comes with a dealer label stating it is from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) which is the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala. I've never seen a piece with this locality before, but I have no reason to think it's inauthentic. Cordierite is probably most well known for it's purple/blue variety called Iolite. Iolite translated from Greek literally means "violet stone". In the gem world they are sometimes known as "water Sapphire", but it is truly gem grade Cordierite. Iolite is strongly pleochroic and this specimen - with strong backlighting - shows a bluish-purple hue one direction, and a yellowish-gold color in another direction. It's not really crystallized, but it does show decent gemminess when backlit. The matrix is a mixture of black mica schist, Calcite and pink Corundum. From the collection of Colin Manlove.