Sugilite
Grape-purple manganese silicate from a Kalahari manganese mine.
- Family
- Sugilite
- Formula
- KNa₂(Fe,Mn,Al)₂Li₃Si₁₂O₃₀
- Mohs
- 6 to 6.5
- System
- Hexagonal
Drag to turn
Science
Sugilite is a cyclosilicate coloured purple by manganese. The Japanese type material was brownish and unremarkable; the purple gem grade appeared in the Wessels manganese mine in 1979 and is what the market knows. It is cut as cabochons and beads and sold under the trade name 'Royal Azel'.
- Mineral
- Sugilite
- Formula
- KNa₂(Fe,Mn,Al)₂Li₃Si₁₂O₃₀
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Mohs hardness
- 6 to 6.5
- Specific gravity
- 2.74 to 2.80
- Refractive index
- 1.607 to 1.610
- Lustre
- Vitreous to waxy
- Colours
- Purple, Magenta, Grape
Composition
KNa₂(Fe,Mn,Al)₂Li₃Si₁₂O₃₀. Made of Potassium, Sodium, Iron, Manganese, Aluminium, Lithium, Silicon, Oxygen.
Origin
- South AfricaWessels mine, Kalahari
- JapanIwagi Islet, type locality
- Canada
- India
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Gem sugilite has come almost only from one South African mine, in a single pocket found in 1979. Bright gel-grade material is rare.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Sugilite sits at 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale. Glass and a knife blade are about as hard; it wears well with care.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Crown
- Third Eye
- Heart
Element
- Air
Zodiac
- Virgo
- Sagittarius
Planets
- Jupiter
Properties
- Spiritual love
- Protection
- Emotional healing
- Purpose
Lore
Found by petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi in 1944 on Iwagi Islet and named for him in 1976. It has no ancient tradition; its reputation as a 'love stone of the New Age' dates to the 1980s.
Its practice associations were written almost from scratch: protection from negativity and living one's purpose.
- Pronunciation'Soo-ghee-lite', with a hard g, after Sugi.
- ManganeseThe purple of manganese, like rhodonite and rhodochrosite.