What is iolite worth?

What is this? Fine darker blue to violet iolite crystals weighing in between one and five carats can fetch between USD 60 and 80 per carat. For rarer stones that weigh in at between five and 10 carats, collectors can expect to pay anywhere between USD 100 to 150 per carat.

What is iolite jewelry?

Iolite is primarily a blue gemstone. You can find it in many shades of blue, from light to dark. The most valuable and highly priced iolite are stones with saturated, vivid blue hues. At its deepest and most vivid, high-quality iolite can challenge the beauty of expensive stones like sapphires and tanzanites.

Is iolite real?

Iolite crystals naturally occur in colors ranging from colorless and grey to pale blue, dark blue and violet. Though it is widely known as iolite in the gem and jewelry industry, ‘Cordierite’ (named after French geologist Cordier) is the official name of the mineral.

Is iolite durable?

On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, iolite ranks at 7 to 7.5. However, it has a lower toughness rating due to its distinct cleavage in one direction. It’s a durable jewelry stone but is less durable than topazes, sapphires and diamonds.

How can you tell a fake iolite?

Despite its affordability, you may still come across Iolite ‘fakes’. These will generally be colored glass, so simply look for depth of color, proper reflection of light, and hardness of the gem to identify the fake stone. Glass is much softer than Iolite, and may already be scratched – a dead give-away!

Which is better amethyst or iolite?

If you have material goals then the best alternative for Blue Sapphire would be an Iolite. If you have spiritual goals then the best alternative to Blue Sapphire would be Amethyst.

Is iolite a sapphire?

The name iolite comes from ios, the Greek word for violet. Iolite is commonly known as “water sapphire”” in its deep blue sapphire color. Like sapphire and tanzanite, its fellow blue gemstones, iolite is pleochroic- meaning it transmits light differently when viewed from different directions.

Is tanzanite the same as iolite?

Iolite is occasionally wrongly labelled as Tanzanite – however, Tanzanite is a softer stone. Iolite is much more affordable, and can be a great substitute if you are looking for a gemstone that has a blue similar to Tanzanite’s beautiful blue but on a budget.

Which is better Amethyst or iolite?

Is iolite rare?

Sometimes mistaken for better-known sapphire or tanzanite, top-color iolite is a rare treat. This gem variety of cordierite shows strong pleochroism. Researchers believe this stone may have been one of the first polarizing lenses.