5.5 carat sapphire blue Iolite Gemstone

Burma Iolite (The Viking Sapphire) (5.5 ct)   14x12mm Oval

Product description: Iolite is typically light to dark blue or violet-blue, but it may also occur in light shades of yellow, green, gray, or brown. Violet-blue iolite is considered ideal color. Iolite is strongly trichroic, meaning that it shows three colors when viewed from different angles. A cube-shaped piece of iolite can appear blue from one angle, clear from another, and surprisingly golden from another. Iolite is sometimes referred to as "the Viking sapphire" because, according to Norse legend, Vikings used thin slices of iolite as polarizing filters, allowing them to look directly at the sun and use its exact location in the sky to navigate the open seas. If this is true, it would help explain how the Vikings supposedly managed to travel such great distances across massive expanses of ocean without modern navigational We obtained a wonderful parcel of Iolite in Myanmar (Burma), when on a gem hunt for a High Net Value client who was seeking top of the line Blue Sapphire. we found the Sapphire, but the client fell in love with the Iolite and took several pieces as well.