Sunstone

Everything flashes at once or not at all.

Feldspar that trapped sheets of copper platelets while it crystallised, all lying parallel to one cleavage plane, so they all light up in the same instant when the angle finds them. Oregon's are genuine copper. India's are hematite. Everything flashes at once or not at all.

India's are hematite and cost very little.

Feldspar that trapped flat copper platelets while it crystallised, all lying in one plane, so they flash together when the angle finds them. Oregon's are real copper and get faceted. India's are hematite and cost very little, which does not make them less pleasant to hold.

Copper-diffused feldspar sold as Tibetan sunstone for years.

Oregon sunstone holds actual copper platelets lying parallel in one plane, so they flash together at a single angle. In the 2000s, copper-diffused feldspar was sold as natural Tibetan sunstone and the market took years to catch it. Goldstone's sparkle is identical hexagons in glass.

Sequins pinned in one sheet, all catching at once.

Flat copper platelets froze into the feldspar all lying in one plane, so they catch at a single angle together, like sequins pinned into a sheet. Shops sell it beside moonstone as a matched pair, which is a shop decision rather than a geological one. Indian material is hematite instead.

Both of them flash. Only one of them is expensive.

Flat metallic platelets sit locked parallel to one cleavage plane, so they all catch the light in the same instant and the stone flashes copper. Oregon material is genuine copper and gets faceted, while Indian material is hematite and costs almost nothing. Both flash. One of them is expensive.

Goldstone's specks are identical, and sunstone's never are.

Put the platelets under ten times magnification. Sunstone's are few, large and irregular, all lying in one cleavage plane, while goldstone packs identical copper hexagons evenly through glass. Then there is the andesine scandal of the 2000s, when copper-diffused feldspar sold for years as natural Tibetan red sunstone.

They flash together at one angle, or not at all.

Copper or hematite platelets caught flat inside the feldspar, all lying parallel to one cleavage plane, so they flash together at a single angle like sequins pinned in a sheet. Oregon's are genuine copper. In the 2000s copper-diffused feldspar sold as natural red Tibetan sunstone and fooled the trade for years.

They flash at one angle and disappear from every other.

Feldspar that trapped flat copper or hematite platelets while crystallising, all lying in one plane, so they flash together at a single angle and disappear from every other. Oregon material is genuine copper. In the 2000s, copper-diffused feldspar was sold widely as natural red Tibetan sunstone.

The Viking sun-finding story belongs to a different stone.

Feldspar that trapped sheets of copper or hematite platelets while crystallising, so it flashes metallic orange when the light finds one specific angle. Oregon's Lake and Harney Counties produce genuine copper material cut as faceted gems. The Viking sun-finding story belongs to a different stone.

The flash arrives at exactly one angle, then leaves.

Feldspar that trapped flat metal platelets while crystallising, every one of them lying in a single plane, so the flash arrives at exactly one angle and then leaves. Oregon's platelets are genuine copper. Goldstone glitters from every angle because it is glass and the sparkle was stirred in.

They ignite together at one angle and vanish together at the next.

The flashes come from flat metal platelets all lying parallel to one cleavage plane, so they ignite together at one angle and vanish together at the next. Oregon's are copper. India's are hematite and cost a fraction.

Sequins pinned into a sheet, catching fire all at once.

Flat copper or hematite platelets lie parallel to one cleavage plane inside the feldspar, like sequins pinned into a sheet, catching fire all at once when the angle finds them. Oregon's are genuine copper. The Viking sun-finding story attached to it is doubtful and repeated anyway.

Sunstone is carried for courage, abundance and self-love. Feldspar that trapped sheets of copper or hematite platelets while crystallising, so it flashes metallic orange when the light finds the right angle.. Tradition links it to the sacral, solar-plexus chakra.

Sunstone is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Goldstone is the critical confusion. Under 10x, goldstone shows an enormous number of identical tiny copper hexagons packed evenly in transparent glass, often with round bubbles; sunstone shows fewer, larger, irregular platelets lying in one plane inside a cleavable crystal.. Indian and Tanzanian sunstone is untreated.

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