Catalog Search Guide

You can search our catalog using different mineral attributes. For example, you can search by color such as green, yellow or purple, or by chemical elements such as uranium, calcium or iron, or by mineral groups such as phosphate, silicate or carbonate. You can also filter by crystal habit like crystal, geode or crystal on matrix, by specimen size such as thumbnail, small, medium or cabinet, and by features such as radioactive or fluorescent minerals.

Labradorite

Labradorite is a calcium-rich member of the plagioclase feldspar series, sitting between the albite and anorthite end-members with an albite:anorthite ratio typically around 30:70 to 50:50. Its defining trait is labradorescence, a vivid schiller effect of electric blues, golds, greens and occasional coppery reds that flashes across an otherwise gray to charcoal-black surface. This optical phenomenon is caused by microscopic Bøggild lamellae, thin exsolution layers that form only when the host rock cools extremely slowly, acting as a natural diffraction grating for light. Chemically expressed as (Ca,Na)(Al,Si)4O8, labradorite typically forms in mafic igneous rocks such as basalt, gabbro and norite, and is frequently the dominant mineral in anorthosite bodies, where crystals up to several meters across have been documented.

The species takes its name from its type locality near Nain on the coast of Labrador, Canada, still prized for classic anorthosite-hosted material. Finland is world-famous for gem-quality labradorite mined around the Ylämaa district, marketed under the trade name Spectrolite for its exceptionally dense, full-spectrum play of color including deep reds and yellows rarely seen elsewhere. Madagascar's Antsohamamy Quarry in Tulear Province produces abundant polished labradorite slabs and spheres, while Golovinskoye in Zhytomyr, Ukraine yields fine iridescent material long used in the lapidary trade. Collectors also seek Australian labradorite from Black Hill, New South Wales, and gem-grade labradorite mined as Oregon Sunstone in the United States, prized for coppery aventurescent inclusions distinct from classical labradorescence.

Because gemmy, high-flash specimens require a very particular composition and cooling history, strongly labradorescent material remains geologically selective even though the mineral itself is a common rock-forming feldspar. Specimens are usually cut en cabochon, polished into slabs, or sliced thin and viewed wet to intensify the color flash, making labradorite equally valued by mineral collectors, lapidaries and jewelry makers. Its combination of dramatic optical play, well-documented type locality, and a spread of distinct regional varieties from Finland to Madagascar to Labrador itself gives collectors a rich range of provenance and color character to pursue within a single, affordable feldspar species.