Iolite - what a stunning colour gemstone...

A recent commission introduced me to a beautiful deep violet-blue gemstone - Iolite.
Looking into it's origins apparently it was used by Viking sailers as an aid to navigation! Due to it's inherent property of Pleochroism Viking mariners could use thin slices of Iolite as a polarising filter which enabled them to accurately deternine the position of the sun and navigate to the new World and back.

It's a very rich colour and looks lovely set against silver as in these earrings or with the addition of a gold bezel setting as on the ring. This is a stone I'll be using more of in the future...