Labradorite (RARE Norway) Kay Robertson Coll.

Item Description

Labradorite is a variety on Anorthite (Plagioclase Series), a member of the Feldspar Group. It is famous for the gorgeous hues, due to the schiller effects and is widely used in jewelry and ornamental work. Schiller is a variable optical phenomenon in gems or minerals, related to sheen; varies from a milky to an almost metallic shimmer to a vivid iridescent play of color. Schiller effects are the result of thin microscopic inclusions within a translucent mineral, usually as exsolution lamellae, which refract and reflect incident light. Labradorite, a Na-rich anorthite (a plagioclase feldspar), sometimes exhibits a very pronounced iridescent schiller, also termed labradorescence, in particular where it contains appreciable K (MINDAT). It is VERY RARE from Norway. MINDAT lists 24 Norway localities for the species, but there are NO examples shown in the MINDAT Norway Photo Gallery for Labradorite. Gorgeous peacock-blue iridescence is easily visible under reflected light on this lustrous, translucent, gray cleavage of Labradorite. Ex Kay Robertson Collection # 9304 and acquired at the Lidstrom ranch in August, 1981. Kay is a prominent California collector, who specialized in European classics (see the article in the March-April, 2007 Mineralogical Record and the 50+ page article in the German Magazine "Mineralien Welt" November-December 2017). A RARE and colorful Labradorite from Norway.