36 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
AT ONE TIME, labradorite was fairly unknown in
jewelry. Maybe you’ve seen or heard of it as a facing
for buildings. But today, its best examples have taken
their rightful place in the gemstone market. A member
of the extended feldspar family, labradorite comes to
fame because of its iridescent color display. Called
labradorescence, it is often likened to opal’s play-of-
color, though the phenomena are caused by diff erent
optical eff ects.
The body color of labradorite is usually medium
to dark gray. The darker the body color, the better
it shows off its fl ashes of color. That is not to
dismiss stones with a light body color. These are
called “rainbow moonstone,” and the color display
is more ethereal compared to the down to earth,peacock colors of dark-bodied labradorite. The most
common color of labradorescence is blue, followed
by green and yellow. Some stones may fl ash red or
purple.
When shopping for a labradorite, look for a stone
that shows iridescence across the top of the stone.
This is apt to be a stone cut with a fl attish top best
suited to the material and the iridescence. A gem
should show its best color when seen from above,
not from the side. As much as possible, avoid stones
with “dead spots” — areas of no phenomena.
By themselves, labradorites are enough. But
it’s easy to accent them with gemstones that
complement the color fl ashes — Montana sapphires,
for example.Smokin’ Stones
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EADSNewsfl ash:
This One Is Hot
With good fl ash and cut to show it well,
labradorite is a peacock among stones