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Sunstone is also called aventurine feldspar. Its golden spangled
effect is due to the presence of tiny platelets of included minerals
such as goethite or hematite. At one angle, it appears to be a
dull brown, white, or reddish rock. A simple twist catches the
sun's light & magically a glittering gem is shining in your hand.
Since the sunstone was so rare, its use as a jewelry stone in our
ancient past was limited. However, the sunstone has a long history
of association with the sun's powers. Magicians would set the
stone in gold to attract the sun's influence. An ancient healing
tradition used a circle of sunstones set out under the sun.
Individuals with rheumatism could then sit in the middle of the
circle and be relieved of their symptoms.
Sunstone is an ancient
gem, in fact sunstones have been discovered in Viking burial
mounds. Among the Vikings it was thought to be an aid to
navigation.
Pope Clement VII (1478-1534) was reputed to have in his possession a
sunstone "with a golden spot that moves across
the surface in accord with the apparent motion of the sun from
sunrise to sunset". Until the
early 1800's, sunstone was very rare and quite expensive. In 1831,
it was discovered along the Selenga River in Siberia. Prior to
discovering the major vein, local merchants & residents would
collect sunstone pebbles from the riverbed. Some fairly sizable
deposits of sunstone are found in Siberia, large enough to be carved
into vases & bowls.
Another type of sunstone, free of inclusion, and with an orange body
color just arrived on the market from China, but it is more a
collector item than jewelry material. |
