Sodalite

Color, purity and weight are the decisive factors that affect the price of sodalite. A tumbled stone with average quality, about 2.5 cm across, is usually $1-$6/piece.

The brittleness of sodalite leads to its poor toughness, making it prone to cracking or chipping during daily usage.

Sodalite has resistance to water, dry conditions, and normal cleaning procedures well. However, to maintain its color and integrity, it should be kept away from intense light, heat or open flames and harsh chemicals.

A light, relatively hard yet fragile mineral, sodalite is named after its sodium content; in mineralogy it may be classed as a feldspathoid. Well known for its blue color, sodalite may also be grey, yellow, green, or pink and is often mottled with white veins or patches. The more uniformly blue material is used in jewellery, where it is fashioned into cabochons and beads. Lesser material is more often seen as facing or inlay in various applications. Although somewhat similar to lazurite and lapis lazuli, sodalite rarely contains pyrite (a common inclusion in lapis) and its blue color is more like traditional royal blue rather than ultramarine. It is further distinguished from similar minerals by its white (rather than blue) streak. Sodalite's six directions of poor cleavage may be seen as incipient cracks running through the stone. Most sodalite will fluoresce orange under ultraviolet light, and hackmanite exhibits tenebrescence.

Sodalite was first described in 1811 for the occurrence in its type locality in the Ilimaussaq complex, Narsaq, West Greenland. Occurring typically in massive form, sodalite is found as vein fillings in plutonic igneous rocks such as nepheline syenites. It is associated with other minerals typical of silica-undersaturated environments, namely leucite, cancrinite and natrolite. Other associated minerals include nepheline, titanian andradite, aegirine, microcline, sanidine, albite, calcite, fluorite, ankerite and baryte. Significant deposits of fine material are restricted to but a few locales: Bancroft, Ontario, and Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, in Canada; and Litchfield, Maine, and Magnet Cove, Arkansas, in the US. The Ice River complex, near Golden, British Columbia, contains sodalite. Smaller deposits are found in South America (Brazil and Bolivia), Portugal, Romania, Burma and Russia. Hackmanite is found principally in Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Greenland. Euhedral, transparent crystals are found in northern Namibia and in the lavas of Vesuvius, Italy.

Sodalite is a cubic mineral which consists of an aluminosilicate cage network with Na cations in the interframework. This framework forms a cage structure, similar to zeolites. Each unit cell contains two cage structures. Natural sodalite holds primarily chloride anions in the cages, but they can be substituted by other anions such as sulfate, sulfide, hydroxide, trisulfur with other minerals in the sodalite group representing end member compositions.

Attractive for its rare natural blue hues, high-quality sodalite is used for ornamental purposes, as a sculptural material and a gemstone. It is the only naturally blue rock available at a friendly price and can be an affordable alternative to Lapis lazuli. However, due to its low hardness, sodalite should be used in jewelry pieces that are not exposed to friction and abrasion.

Sodalite represents goddesses from many cultures. In ancient Greece, sodalite was known as a stone that honors the goddess Hera - the Greek goddess of marriage. In ancient Egypt, this same stone represented Nuit, the Egyptian goddess of heaven and sky. In Roman culture, this stone is associated with Venus, the goddess of love.

The people of the Caral culture traded for sodalite from the Collao altiplano. Sodalite was also traded for at Lukurmata.

Sodalite is a strong stone that when used on the Third Eye chakra, may help in the development of psychic abilities. It reportedly works on the Throat chakra to aid in communication, especially in areas of public speaking. Along the way, it may help to stimulate creativity and encourage cognitive thinking skills.