Kornerupine Gemstones - Very valuable gemstones
Introduction
The Danish Gemologist, Andreas N. Kornerup, was the first person to discover Kornerupine, in Greenland in the year 1884. This clear brown or yellow gemstone is extremely rare to find, and this makes it very precious. If cut using the cabochon cut, good quality Kornerupine, displays the "Cat´s Eye" effect, and it can also exhibit Asterism, which is where the stone seems to have a start emanating from the center. Kornerupine is sometimes also referred to as being Prismatine.
Kornerupine gemstone comes in many colored, but the rarest and most striking is the green Kornerupine. This is the variety that looks exactly like an emerald, in terms of color, and also the refractive index. The Kornerupine can however be distinguished from emerald by the fact that it has pleochroic properties; the term refers to the ability of the stone to show different colors when it is viewed from different angles. The green color will only be visible when the stone is viewed from the main axis.
Apart from green, Kornerupine also has many other colors and these are in different shades of pink, brown, and yellow; you can also find many clear forms. When it comes to its pleochroic nature, a Kornerupine will show colors that range from yellowish green to a brownish red when it is viewed through different angles and facets.
For quite a long time, the stone has been associated with the ability to magically help someone regain confidence by breaking any sense of self-doubt and feeling like being oppressed. For anyone who was feeling down and depressed Kornerupine was the stone that was sought to help heal this mood. It is said to transform people lives by lifting up the spirits of the afflicted and helping them look at the situation from an enlightened point of view. It is a gemstone that is used in meditation, and it is said to transform and focus the mind. The price of Kornerupine has been known to jump exponentially, given that it is a very rare gemstone. The price can jump up from 4 to 5 times for a single carat change in weight.
In Sri Lanka, Kornerupine is found in alluvial deposits commonly known as Placers. In rivers which have heavy stones and thick mud, the lighter minerals such as Iolite, Garnets and Sphene are allowed to flow down the river and form deposits in a lower part of the river, and this is how the placers are formed. More deposits of Kornerupine have been found in Madagascar and Australia.
Kornerupine has a notable characteristic where the octagonal sides are cut in equal lengths, and they give off an appearance which is almost like a hexagonal cut, but has two extra sides. When it is being cut, Kornerupine is designed using a step cut, or having two steps which are places above the girdle and three or four steps being below. This is a great cut for gemstones with a high clarity value, since when looked at form above, they seem to have a fantastic symmetrical appearance, and this draws the eyes towards the natural lines of the pavilion, and towards the culet which is centralized.
Chemical characteristics of this gemstone
Kornerupine is classified as a boro-silicate and it is very rare to find. It forms crystals that are in an orthorhombic, dipyramidal shape. The crystals are thus said to have green, brown, yellow and colorless tints. They also have prisms which look like those of the tourmaline, and can be found in large fibrous forms too. The gemstone has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale.
This gemstone is formed in volcanic and sedimentary rocks which are rich in Boron and have undergone high levels of metamorphism. Metamorphosed anorthoste complexes are also known to have deposits of this rare mineral. Even when it is found in translucent shades, this gemstone still highly valued because it is very rare. The most sought-after shades are those that resemble emeralds.
The fantastic usability of Kornerupine gemstones
This is a rare gemstone that is known for the ability to blend colors rather than the individual shades that it has. Margaret Cannon Lewis, a gemstone designer from Dallas has for a long time taken advantage of this characteristic which brings a wonderful pleochroic effect, which shifts from blur to green and then to purple. She says that the stone can be called a phenomenon stone, and the colors are really a function of lighting and cutting. Apart from being pleochroic, and exhibiting each color at once, this is a gemstone that is loved for its ability to mix all the colors of its pleochroic nature and bring about multiple hues of the individual colors. There are others who love it because the colors can oscillate from the blue to green and finally the purple shades easily. There must be a distinction mentioned here; this is not a gemstone that will change colors like an alexandrite stone, but one which will shift the colors like an andalusite gemstone.
Some interesting facts of this gemstone
Most of the Kornerupine found in the world comes from Tanzania, and is usually in small stones; it is very rare that you can get a stone that is above 1.75 carats in weight. According to Blauwet, a gemstone dealer, a stone that weighs a carat in weight can cost up to 100 dollars and this price can double for any weight that is above a single carat.
Most of the Kornerupine mined before the 1960s was found in Sri Lanka, but later on, there were deposits found in Tanzania, which is now the largest producer of Kornerupine. Even if the gemstone has a wonderful hardness, it is rarely used; Tanzania is said to have given the gen a better identity in terms of color, and brought a new lease of life, in terms of the availability.
The mythology of Kornerupine
Many artists, actors, writers and musicians have Kornerupine talismans since they believe that it allows them to have a higher sense of creativity. The gemstone, is also known as Prismatine, due to its unique prismatic formation. Today, the main deposits are found in Tanzania, Greenland and Australia.
There are traditional healers who believe that Kornerupine has the ability to heal all sorts of heart ailments, and that it allows for better blood circulation. It is said to have the ability to cheer someone up and release him from any stressful situation. For those who cannot sleep well, this gemstone is said to normalize how one sleeps, and Lithotherapists, say that it helps in the normalization of the functions of the body organs. For those who believe in chakras, the gemstone is said to open up the heart and throat chakras.
Experts in the magical properties of gemstones and minerals say that this is a gemstone that is so neutral that it does not have any effect on the wearer, but instead conforms to the character of the individual. This means that when wearing the gemstone, two different individuals will experience different effect on their physical and spiritual wellbeing. It is said to push some people into depression and irritation, while others have their moods lifted considerably. The actual cause of these different reactions is the fact that the stone will highlight the traits of an individual. It is able to show the virtues in one person and expose the flaws in another. This is sad to be the reason why the stone is not suitable for everyone. However, whether the moods are uplifted or not, the effects of this stone have never been known to cause any harm to an individual. However, most times the stone is said to give the wearer a deep desire to live life to the fullest, and it is said to repair the functioning of organs that may be weary or diseased.
Astrologers are of the belief that this is a stone that should be worn on the right side of the body, in order to bring about the beneficial effects that the wearer desires. It is said that the rings made of this stone should only be worn by men while women should only wear earrings and brooches. It is said to be a mineral which symbolizes all signs of the zodiac instead of just a single one. The only bad effect attributed to this stone is the ability to bring out the flaws of the wearer, and people who do not want their flaws brought to the fore should not wear the gemstone.
