Sugilite is a rare purple stone, usually found as solid masses with veins of black, brown or white. Beads are often stabilized or dyed, so it's worth asking what was done to a piece.
Cyclosilicate
Sugilite
Sugilita
- Palette
- Purple Pink
- Mined in
- Japan, South Africa, Canada, Italy, Australia, India
- Hardness
- Mohs 5.5–6.5 ?
- See-through
- translucent
- Known since
- 1944
- Named for
- Ken-ichi Sugi, a Japanese petrologist
- Also sold as
- luvulite, lavulite, royal azel (trade name)
- Intention
- Calm New Beginnings
- Looking for
- Forgiveness Change and decisions Rest and meditation
- Water
- Keep it dry; wipe with a soft cloth
- Dye or finish
- Genuine sugilite beads are sold natural, but some beads sold under the name are imitation. Ask which you are buying.
Not in our pieces now
3,200 FEET
In 1979 a massive sugilite deposit estimated at 10 to 20 tons was found about 3,200 feet underground near Hotazel, South Africa.
1975
The first gem-quality sugilite turned up in 1975, as a thin seam in a core-drill sample from a manganese mine near Hotazel, South Africa.
ROYAL AZEL
Royal Azel, a trade name for sugilite, was coined from Hotazel, the South African town near the mine that produces it.
What it is
Sugilite is a rare pink-to-deep-purple stone, usually found as solid masses, with veins or swirls of black, brown or white. Beads are opaque to translucent with a smooth, slightly waxy shine.
What gives it its color
The purple comes from a trace of manganese in the mineral.
Where it comes from
Gem sugilite is mined at the Wessels mine near Hotazel in South Africa; it was first described on Iwagi Islet in Japan, where it is pale and not jewelry grade, and is also found in India, Canada, Italy and Australia.
In history
Japanese geologist Ken-ichi Sugi found the purple mineral on Iwagi Islet in Japan in 1944 but could not identify it. It was named sugilite in his honor in 1976, and it reached the jewelry market in 1979 once gem-quality material turned up at the Wessels Mine in South Africa.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, sugilite is the stone people turn to for forgiveness and self-acceptance. It's said to be a companion for meditation and for making a big decision.
The name honors a Japanese petrologist, and most fine purple material comes from one mine in South Africa.
People keep it in a meditation space, on a bedside table, or wear it as a necklace or earrings.
How people wear or keep it: In a meditation space, on a bedside table, as a necklace or earrings, or in a pocket.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, sugilite 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: in a meditation space, on a bedside table, as a necklace or earrings. People reach for it when they want forgiveness, 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
ZodiacVirgo
ElementAir
Also calledluvulite, lavulite, royal azel (trade name)
Care
- Fairly hard but not tough: it can chip, so avoid knocks.
- Keep it away from water, sweat and perfume. Sugilite beads are often stabilized with resin or dyed, which water and solvents can dull.
- Keep it out of strong sun and heat; some purple stones fade.
- Wipe with a dry, soft cloth and store apart from harder stones.
How to tell what you have
- Sugilite is a rare pink-to-deep-purple stone with black, brown, or white veins. It is also sold as luvulite, lavulite, and royal azel.
- Good rough is getting harder to find, and because purple stones sell well, other purple stones can be sold under the name.
- Hardness is 6 to 6-1/2.
What sets the price
Price follows how deep and even the purple is, since lighter patches lower the value; natural sugilite costs more than pieces made of crushed stone and resin or other stones dyed to look like it, and it is rare.
Rules and sourcing
Some beads sold under the name sugilite are imitation. Under the FTC jewelry guides a seller should say what the bead actually is.
Questions people ask at our table
What is sugilite?
Sugilite is a rare pink-to-purple lithium silicate mineral, named for Japanese petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi. It is usually found as solid masses rather than crystals.
Why is it rare and costly?
Gem-quality purple material comes from very few places, mainly one mine in South Africa. Fine deep-purple pieces are scarce, which is why the stone is hard to find in bead form.
Is sugilite sold as beads always natural?
Not always. Lower-grade material is often stabilized with resin or dyed, and some purple beads sold under the name are other stones or dyed lookalikes. Ask the seller what was done to it.
How is it different from amethyst?
Amethyst is a transparent, glassy purple quartz and harder. Sugilite is opaque to translucent, often veined, and softer.
Do you carry sugilite?
No. Amethyst, lepidolite and fluorite offer nearby purple tones in stones we can source plainly.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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