Cordierite Pendant in Sterling Silver, Bezel Set Rare Sunstone Iolite Feldspar from Norway

Cordierite Pendant in Sterling Silver, Bezel Set Rare Sunstone Iolite Feldspar from Norway, Used in Norse Navigation Historically

Set solidly in 925 Sterling silver bezel. Fantastic pattern and multiple colors including sunstone schiller orange!

Awesome super rare stone pendant ~ Colorful stone with an interesting history~

'The Vikings made navigation stones from locally sourced transparent crystals of minerals such as cordierite, a biaxial magnesium iron aluminum silicate, to help cross the seas under cloudy weather. These Viking “sunstones” are backed up by science, as cordierite and other materials such as calcite and tourmaline can be used to identify the position of the sun through even thick clouds. These stones visibly split sunlight into two images that when rotated to make equally bright, show rings of polarized light around the sun’s position. Cordierite was found to be the most accurate navigation stone in simulated journeys from Bergen, Norway, to the Viking settlement of Hyarf in Greenland '
(D. Száz and G. Horváth, “Success of sky-polarimetric Viking navigation: revealing the chance Viking sailors could reach Greenland from Norway,” Royal Society Open Science, Vol. 5, 2018, No. 172187)

More info here: https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2020-gemnews-nordic-gems-and-jewelry

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