Iolite

Item Description

Iolite is probably well-know to most people familiar with gems. It's actually the gem purple/blue variety of the minerals Cordierite, but you almost never see the word Cordierite on any gemstone labels. The word Iolite when translated from Greek literally means "violet stone", and it's easy to see why this gem got its name. These gems are sometimes known as "water Sapphire" in various corners of the gem world. Iolite is strongly pleochroic and shows a good blue color one direction, a violet color another direction, and a yellowish color in the third direction. This particular gem is from Tanzania and is only very very slightly included with a standard "Round Brilliant" cut. It's not easy to find clean carat Iolites on the market in this size, and this particular gem does show decent pleochroism when rotated on its various axes.