Information of TibetanSun Stone

Andesine-Labradorite is a natural gemstone that is completely UNHEATED AND UNTREATED.  To see all of the spectacular colors of this gemstone and to have them be totally natural from the earth in these shades is truly something special for all gemstone collectors.  Andesine-Labradorite is a 6.5 on the MOHS Scale of Hardness which makes it perfectly acceptable for all types of jewe.ry.  However, it should be notes that it is extremely difficult to set in jewelry as it is easy to crack under pressure.  It is recommended to have a professional that understands the gemstone undertake any setting into jewelry.

Andesine-Labradorite comes in many magnificent, natural colors.  To name just a few there is Green, Cherry Red, Red, Red-Orange, Orange Red, Honey-Red and Honey.  Another shade is Yellow, however this is so rare that it may not be obtainable.  In addition to these gorgeous colors, there is also another form of rarity to this gemstone know as a COLOR SHIFTING phenomena.  In rare situations you will see a Green Gemstone shift to Red, and a Red Gemstone shift to Green.  This is not a true color change like Alexandrite even though some in the trade have implied this.  The gem laboratories have tested this phenomena and have reported it to be a color shift.  This makes the gemstone even more valuable than a single color.

Approximately 5% of all of the rough that has been found is of facetable grade.  Of that 5%, only 1 to 3% is CLEAN, TOP GEM GRADE material and only 1% of the clean, top gem grade is the Green Color and even less than that the material that has a color shift (okay, enough math).  I thought it important to put these numbers in this guide to help you understand how rare it is to see the Top Gem Grade Material.  Even in the Top Material you may see Color Streaking/Color Zoning in the gemstone.  This is a perfectly acceptable so called imperfection in this gemstone.  I like to look at this as a "beauty Mark" of the particular gemstone.  In fact, sometimes the pattern will add to the beauty of the gemstone, especially in some of the lighter shades.  Gemstones that are free of this "beauty mark" bring a higher price in the marketplace.  This would be very similar to the jardin in Emeralds being acceptable, yet an Emerald without jardin bring a much heftier price than those with it.