Sodalite was discovered in Greenland in 1806, but was not widely used as an ornamental stone until 1891 when large deposits were discovered in Ontario, Canada. On a visit to Ontario, Princess Patricia, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, chose Sodalite as interior decoration for Marlborough House in England, hence the alternative name for this beautiful gemstone: Princess Blue.
Our sodalite beads come in exquisite, varied shades of deep royal blue and are marbled with a white matrix.
Named for its sodium content, sodalite is a rich royal blue member of the feldspathoid mineral family. Some varieties of sodalite demonstrate an amazing characteristic called tenebrescence. Tenebrescence is the ability of minerals to change color when exposed to sunlight. These varieties of sodalite are often called “Chameleon Sodalite”. Of course, the varieties of sodalite used as gemstones do not exhibit this chameleon-like characteristic!
|½ strand (loose)||$9.45|