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 Post subject: What is the Iolite Crystal?
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:40 am 
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Iolite is the gemstone variety of the mineral cordierite. Iolite crystals are usually transparent to translucent forms of the mineral.

Iolite is a silicon dioxide variety that occurs in quartz and other minerals, including many different varieties of cordierite. It has a brilliant blue color and can be found in the United States, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and elsewhere around the world.

The name iolite comes from Greek words meaning "to clear away" or "to make clear." The name comes from the ancient belief that iolites could remove obstacles in people's lives by helping them see clearly.

MOD ALERT: This post is riddled with misinformation. See Steven Challener's post below for clarification.


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 Post subject: Re: What is the Iolite Crystal?
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 11:25 am 
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A little more information from the Gemology Project:
https://www.gemologyproject.com/wiki/in ... tle=Iolite
and
GemologyOnline.com
https://gemologyonline.com/iolite.html


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 Post subject: Re: What is the Iolite Crystal?
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 12:58 pm 
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Love Iolite in the the crystal form and when it displays its pleochroic side!

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 Post subject: Re: What is the Iolite Crystal?
PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 1:19 pm 
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emmadavis wrote:
Iolite is a silicon dioxide variety

It is a silicate, not a variety of silicon dioxode.

emmadavis wrote:
that occurs in quartz and other minerals, including many different varieties of cordierite.

I am not sure what this is supposed to mean. There are not many different varieties of cordierite, and iolite is the only gem-relevant one.

emmadavis wrote:
It has a brilliant blue color

Maybe if you're selling it, but while it can have a fairly nice blue I don't think 'brilliant' would be the right descriptor even without the gray or yellow cross axis.

emmadavis wrote:
The name comes from the ancient belief that iolites could remove obstacles in people's lives by helping them see clearly.

Nonsense, it's from Greek 'Iodes' for violet. There is no such ancient belief.

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