Sunstones & Heliodor - needing help!!

[Guest guest]

Diana, Jaime & All,

 

> There are several forms of sunstone I'm familiar with:

> 1. heliodor is the state stone of Oregon...

> 2. sunstone from the Indian ...

 

I just wanted to mention, to avoid any confusion, that Heliodor is

not the same as Sunstone though I have, on occasion, heard the two

names being used interchangably - most likely due to the " sun "

reference these two share in common.

 

Heliodor is a member of the Beryl family, Golden Beryl to be

specific. Sunstones, including those from Oregon and India, are

Feldspars. They share very different chemistries, Beryl being a

Beryllium Aluminum Silicate and Sunstone, generally an Oligoclase

Feldspar, being a Sodium Calcium Aluminum Silicate.

 

If one were to go searching for Heliodor you'd be more than likely to

find the Beryl and not the Feldspar.

 

To make matters even more confusing the man-made " Goldstone " from

Italy, which is essentially Copper introduced to glass, is often

called Sunstone. It can sometimes feel like a game of " who's on

first? " <grin>

 

As an aside the " flash " found in most Sunstones, including those from

India, is due to the inclusion of platy crystals of Hematite.

However, the Sunstones from Oregon owe their flash to inclusions of

Copper instead!

 

I hope that helps a bit. So many stones, so many names... Fortunately

a stone by any name is just as beautiful! <grin>

 

In Love,

Fabeku

Caretaker, Crystal_Spirit list

crystal_spirit_2/

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Fabeku,

For the clarification between Heliodor and Sunstone! Most informative! I love

the difference between the hematite flash and the copper flash! They do look

different, great to know why.

thanks again,

Love, Light and Blessings to us all, Diana