Labradorite is Canada's first documented and best known gemstone. It used to be found only in Nain, Labradar but is now located in other places such as Finland and Madagascar.An Inuit legend tells of a hunter who found the northern lights (aurora borealis) trapped in stone. He struck the rocks with his spear, releasing most of them but some still remain.
A dull grey stone at first glance, labradorite merits a second look as it displays a beautiful play of color. Flashes of usually iridescent blue and green are observed when one turns the gemstone especially with a good light source around as shown in the photo above (see reference). One could easily understand why the Inuit thought so. Definitely a delightful gemstone for jewelry making and on my list of "must buy"!
Photo credit of labradorite beads : em on flickr
Photo credit of labradorite flash : cobalt123
References
Wikipedia : labradorite
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The Beading Gem's Journal
Great to see you found my photo and used with your article. This is one of my favorite minerals, and one I have photographed many times. I have links on my flickr photos to sites that give the "metaphysical" descriptions and they totally apply to me and my fascination with this delightful mineral.
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