Spectrolite

Same mineral, better luck.

Quarrying at Ylamaa in south-eastern Finland turned up labradorite that flashes red and violet on a near-black body, which ordinary labradorite almost never does. Strictly the name belongs to the Finnish material, and Madagascan stone is now sold under it. Same mineral, better luck.

The black groundmass makes the colour look lit from inside.

Quarrying at Ylamaa in South Karelia opened it up in the 1940s. The black groundmass makes the colour look lit from inside, and unlike ordinary labradorite it flashes red and violet as well as blue. Strictly the name belongs to Finnish material, though Madagascan stone now wears it.

Strictly the name means Finnish material and nothing else.

Ylamaa, south-eastern Finland, where quarrying in the 1940s turned up labradorite that flashes red and violet as well as blue, on a near-black body. Strictly the name means Finnish material and nothing else. Most of what wears it now came out of Madagascar.

The whole spectrum, held on a near-black body.

Ylamaa in south-eastern Finland, where quarrying in the 1940s turned up labradorite carrying reds and violets, broken across a face into small domains like a lit window. Strictly the name covers Finnish material only. Most of what carries it now is Madagascan.

Strictly the name means Finnish. Most of it is Madagascan.

Ylamaa in South Karelia, opened up by quarrying in the 1940s. The near-black groundmass carries reds, oranges and violets that ordinary labradorite almost never manages, broken into small domains like stained glass. Strictly the name means Finnish. Most of what carries it is Madagascan.

Check for red before you pay the premium.

A locality name for Finnish material out of Ylamaa, quarried since the 1940s, though Madagascan labradorite now sells under it constantly. The distinction is real: spectrolite shows red and violet in the flash on a near-black body. Check for red before you pay the premium.

Each domain lights at its own angle, never together.

Finnish labradorite from Ylamaa, quarried since the 1940s, dark enough that the flash reads as stained glass rather than one broad blue sheet. The reds and violets ordinary labradorite never shows sit here in separate small domains, each lighting at its own angle. Priced accordingly.

The dark body is why the colour looks lit from inside.

Labradorite carrying the full spectrum, reds and violets included, which ordinary material almost never shows, on a near-black groundmass. Quarrying at Ylamaa in south-eastern Finland started in the 1940s. The dark body is the reason the colour looks lit from inside.

The name is strictly a Finnish locality term.

Ylamaa in South Karelia turned this up when quarrying began in the 1940s, and the name is strictly a Finnish locality term. It is labradorite showing red and violet as well as blue, broken into small domains across one face like stained glass. Madagascan material wears the name anyway.

The name belongs to Finland. Madagascar uses it regardless.

Strictly, spectrolite is a locality name for Finnish material out of Ylamaa, quarried since the 1940s, showing the red and violet end that ordinary labradorite never reaches. The near-black groundmass is what makes the colour look lit from behind. Madagascar sells under the name anyway.

Strictly the name belongs to Finland, and nobody enforces that.

Ordinary labradorite flashes the blue end. This one throws reds and violets as well, in many small domains across a single face, because the groundmass is nearly black. Strictly the name belongs to Finnish material from Ylamaa, and strictly nobody enforces that.

Every colour is present, and never all at once.

A near-black groundmass carrying the whole spectrum rather than only the blue end, broken into small domains that light at different angles across one face. Quarrying at Ylamaa in Finland turned it up in the 1940s. Every colour is present, and never all at once.

Spectrolite is carried for transformation, intuition and protection. Labradorite that shows the whole spectrum rather than just the blue end, found in quantity at Ylämaa in south-eastern Finland after quarrying began in the 1940s.. Tradition links it to the third-eye, crown chakra.

Spectrolite is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Red and violet flash on a black body distinguishes spectrolite from common labradorite. Confirm feldspar by the ~90° cleavage steps and hardness 6, 6.. Strictly, spectrolite is a locality trade name for Finnish material; identically coloured Madagascan labradorite is now widely sold under the name.

A short rinse is fine for spectrolite, then dry it.