In today’s entry, we continue with our recent series of gemstones in Wings’s current inventory, jewels that he has not used before, or at least not recently enough for us to have photos of the finished works. Today, it’s a stone I personally covet, one of my all-time favorites among the broader category labeled “gemstones.” Part of it is that it manifests mostly in my favorite color, which has always been blue; part of it is the way it catches, holds, and releases the light.
To me, it’s a stone that is truly a gift, a stone that embodies that intangible blessing known as grace. It’s kyanite.
Kyanite is an aluminum-rich silicate mineral; its chemical formula is expressed as Al2(SiO4)O (aluminum, silicon, oxygen). It is found mostly in environments of high-pressure metamorphic rock, although it also occurs as a byproduct of metamorphic process in certain sedimentary-rock environments. Common host environments include schist and gneiss.
Its name comes directly from its most common color: from the Greek kyanos, meaning “blue.” The name was reportedly bestowed in 1789 by a German geologist named Abraham Gottlob Werner. Werner’s background was in mining, and he dev eloped a number of, shall we say, creative theories about geology. One that withstood the test of time to some degree involved what has come to be known as “chronological succession in rocks”: in other words, the changes that occur in layers of rock over geologic periods of time. His naming of kyanite fell victim to the penchant of much of Europe for mispronouncing words of other languages (despite the fact that Greece is solidly European), and soon metamorphosed into cyanite, with a soft “c,” a pronunciation still reflected today in the word “cyan,” which can be found regularly in digital technology as a label for “blue.”
Kyanite also has been historically known by another name, disthene, a label rooted in an oddity of its crystal structure, one known as anistropism. It’s another word of Greek derivation: di, meaning “two,” and sthenos, or “force”; the latter is translated colloquially as “strength,” giving us a word that means, generally speaking, “to strengths.” It’s a direct reference to kyanite’s variable hardness. It manifests mostly as what are known as columnar crystals, and their hardness on the Mohs scale varies significantly depending upon the direction of the crystal measurement: measured lengthwise, the crystal’s hardness ranges roughly between 4.5 and 5.0 on the Mohs scale, but measured across (i.e., perpendicular to the long direction of the crystal), the hardness jumps to a general range of 6.5 to 7.0.
Kyanite’s crystal structure is defining in other ways. As noted above, it usually manifests in columnar crystals, long slender bars of colorful translucent stone. The crystals may also occur in radiating patterns, or in the “tabular” formation shown in the stone pictured above, a form that looks very much like a translucent colored form of the thin layers found in a slab of mica. Kyanite frequently co-occurs with staurolite, and on rare occasions may itself manifest in a twinned crystal structure, giving it a so-called “butterfly” appearance.
The stone often appears in perfectly clear bars, sometimes of one solid color, other times “zoned” by shades of the same color or of differing hues. Like the one shown here, they may also be cloudy (but not opaque), and may contain matrix lines of white that appear nearly opalescent in the light. Held to the light, the crystals may also exhibit effects of chatoyance or labradorescence. In the pictured specimen, shafts of cobalt-blue light criss-cross the stone’s interior; but for its indigo color and mica-like appearance, it could be easily confused with spectrolite.
Despite its name, kyanite is not always blue; it sometimes manifests in shades of teal, green, gray, black, or even a “colorless” form. More rare is an orange form, one that ranges across a spectrum from yellowish to pinkish, a result of the presence of manganese in the stone; at least one deposit of orange kyanite is found in Tanzania.
It’s not a stone limited to Africa, however — indeed, deposits exist worldwide. Predictably, some of the finest specimens come from the Minas Gerais district of Brazil, a region known for its incredible diversity of ultra-fine, high-quality gemstone deposits. Brazilian kyanite manifests in a wide array of colors and crystal patterns.
Some of the best clear blues reportedly come from small mining operations in Nepal, and decent-quality blue stone may also be found in Russia. Teal crystals may be found in Kenya, and, as noted earlier, the rare orange form occurs in Tanzania, as do occasional twinned versions of the stone. The “blade” form of kyanite is also found, frequently co-occurring with staurolite, in one specific region of Switzerland. Good-quality stone is also found in several places here in the U.S., including Connecticut, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
But kyanite is not “only” a gemstone; indeed, that may not even amount to its primary use. Forms of kyanite that are, in gemological terms, of lower grade are commonly used in multiple industrial applications. Its refractory qualities make it especially well-suited to ceramic uses, such as the manufacture of porcelain (both dishware and bathroom fixtures). Because it expands when heated, it is used as a volumizing agent in some applications; it also finds use in the manufacture of abrasives. Perhaps one its most common industrial uses today is in the manufacture of electronics and electrical equipment.
Then, of course, there are the “metaphysical” applications: its symbolism within the traditions of so-called crystal practitioners. In such contexts, it is said to be a stone of connection and communication, of aligning all chakras, of enhancing psychic abilities and ensuring “clear energies.” It is also said to be a stone of conflict resolution, of fairness, of loyalty, of personal empowerment.
That’s a complex and heavy burden to place upon a single stone, however beautiful.
It may be that, in the places where the stone is found in this country, it once had some symbolic meaning for the indigenous inhabitants . It may also be that they regarded it simply as a pretty stone, one useful for adornment and art. For us, it’s the latter, of course.
The one pictured above, the sole specimen in Wings’s current inventory of stones, is the color of the heavens now, in this colder season when the sky is less turquoise than shades of cobalt and indigo. But it also reminds me of something else: of a bluebird — in part because of its unusual free-form shape, in part because of its soft cornflower color. In my language, the root for “bluebird” is also found in the root for the concept of “grace.”
As symbolism goes, it’s hard to get much better than that.
~ Aji
Note: The pictured cabochon is now sold. If you wish to commission a work made with kyanite, please inquire via the Contact form at left; Wings can order a cabochon to suit.
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
