桃園親子教育博物館二

Spectrolite - variety of Labradorite displaying with intense reds, oranges and yellows as well as blues and greens. These colors are due to light interference by thin lamellae (parallel layers) within the Spectrolite. The color play is iridescent like the feathers of a peacock or the Northern Lights.

Spectrolite belongs to the plagioclase feldspar group, a series of mixtures of sodium and calcium aluminum silicates. Spectrolite has a hardness of 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale and a specific gravity of 2.70.

Spectrolite is the very high grade of dark based Labradorite that is found only in Finland. The name "Spectrolite" is a trade name given to this material by the Finns, and only this material can truly be called Spectrolite.

History:  Spectrolite was discovered quite by accident in 1940 during the Second World War, when stones were being quarried along Finland's eastern border for the purpose of making antitank obstacles, which makes it a more recent discovery than the well-known Labradorite from Canada.

Spectrolite is Finland national stone. As each country is entitled to name its own gemstones, Professor Aarne Laitakari, then Director of the Geological Survey of Finland, chose the name "Spectrolite", obviously having in mind the spectrum, the colors of which are visual poetry. Also is said to be that colors reflect the nature of Finland: blue is born the glittering of thousands lakes, green is the wuthering of our country wilderness forest. Yellow, red and oranges are as glowing brilliant colors of fall foliage in autumn.

Spectrolite rough slab straight from our mine, without middlemen.

There is one authentic true Spectrolite and it comes only from Finland.

This beautiful Spectrolite rough slab was mined from our own mine. Our Spectrolite mine is located in Southeast Finland in the county of Ylämaa. Ylämaa's Spectrolite is globally known as a good-quality, strongly colored jewel, which glows in all the colors of the spectrum, so it is polished into unique jewelry.