Iolite is the clear blue-violet gem form of cordierite, sometimes called water sapphire. It is not a sapphire, and it shows different colors as you turn it.
Cyclosilicate (cordierite group) · cordierite
Iolite
Iolita
- Palette
- Blue Purple
- Mined in
- Australia, Brazil, Myanmar, Canada, India, Madagascar, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, United States, Spain
- Hardness
- Mohs 7.0–7.5 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- 1813
- Named for
- Greek word for violet
- Also sold as
- water sapphire, cordierite, dichroite, Vikings' compass (modern trade name)
- Intention
- New Beginnings Calm
- Looking for
- Focus and clarity Change and decisions Rest and meditation
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Iolite is mostly sold natural; the retail chart lists oiling or resin as occasional and a coating as rare.
Not in our pieces now
3 COLORS
Iolite shows a different color along each of three crystal directions: pale yellow or green, violet or blue-violet, and pale blue.
STEINHEILITE
Blue iolite was once also called steinheilite, after Fabian Steinheil, and an older name, dichroite, means 'two-colored rock.'
±5°
In one lab test of the Viking sunstone idea, a polarizing crystal found the sun's direction to within 5 degrees in twilight.
What it is
Iolite is the gem form of cordierite: a clear to translucent stone in blue, smoky blue or bluish violet, often with a gray tinge. It shows strong pleochroism, meaning it looks blue from one angle and pale yellow or gray from another.
What gives it its color
Iolite's blue-violet comes from iron in its structure, and it shows violet from one angle and pale blue or colorless from another (pleochroism).
Where it comes from
Most iolite sold worldwide comes from India, with substantial amounts also mined in Tanzania, Brazil and Sri Lanka.
In history
Iolite was named for French geologist Louis Cordier (1777-1861) after specimens were found at Níjar in Almería, Spain, in 1813. Danish archaeologist Thorkild Ramskou proposed that Viking navigators sighted the sun through thin polarizing crystals such as iolite on cloudy days, though no archaeological find has confirmed it.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, iolite is the stone people reach for when they are weighing a choice. It's said to sharpen focus and bring a clear view of the options.
You may hear it called the Vikings' compass. That is a modern story, and there is no archaeological proof of it.
People wear it as earrings or a pendant, carry it in a pocket, or keep it in a meditation space.
How people wear or keep it: As earrings or a pendant, in a pocket, in a meditation space, or held in the non-dominant hand.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, iolite is paired with the third eye and crown chakras, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as earrings or a pendant, in a pocket, in a meditation space. People reach for it when they want focus and clarity, change and decisions, rest and meditation, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraThird Eye, Crown
ZodiacLibra, Sagittarius, Taurus
Anniversary21st
ElementAir
Also calledwater sapphire, cordierite, dichroite
Care
- Fairly hard, but it has cleavage and can chip on a sharp knock, so keep it away from other hard stones in a pouch.
- Rinse in lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap and dry with a soft cloth.
- Avoid sudden temperature changes and prolonged strong heat.
- Earrings and pendants suit it well; a bracelet sees more knocks.
How to tell what you have
- Iolite shows different colors from different angles, violet to blue to a pale yellow-brown; that strong color change is the main clue.
- It is softer than sapphire (Mohs 7 to 7.5) and has one direction it can split, so it is sometimes sold in place of sapphire or tanzanite.
What sets the price
Price follows how deep and saturated the blue-violet color is, with weak, steely or washed-out color worth less, and how clean the stone is; larger stones are worth more per unit but are rarely free of inclusions.
Questions people ask at our table
What is iolite?
Iolite is the gem variety of the mineral cordierite, a magnesium-iron-aluminium silicate. It is often called water sapphire for its blue color, but it is not a sapphire and is much softer than one.
Is the Viking compass story true?
Nobody has shown it. The idea that Norse sailors found the sun through a slice of cordierite is a modern suggestion, and no archaeological evidence is cited for it. The physics of polarized skylight is real; the sailing claim is unproven.
Why does it change color when I turn it?
Iolite is strongly pleochroic, so light travelling through it in different directions shows different colors, from violet-blue to pale yellow or gray. Good cutters orient the stone so the best blue faces up.
How does it compare with sodalite, amethyst and blue apatite?
Iolite is clearer than sodalite, bluer and greyer than amethyst, and harder than blue apatite. It is the only one of the four that visibly shifts color as you turn it.
Do you carry iolite?
Not right now. Sodalite, amethyst and blue apatite sit close to it in color and are in our bracelets.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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