Labradorite is a feldspar gemstone, named for Labrador, Canada. Its body is a dark gray, and when light hits it at the right angle it flashes blue, teal, gold, violet and sometimes green. That flash is called labradorescence: light diffracts between ultra-thin layers inside the stone, the same physics behind the colors in a soap bubble or an oil slick. Because the color comes from the stone's structure, not a coating, it will not fade. From one angle it looks like an ordinary dark stone, and then you move, and this impossible flash of blue fire appears.

Yes, in necklaces, earrings and bracelets, with a little care. Labradorite is 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, but it has perfect cleavage in two directions, so a sharp knock at the right angle can split it. That is why every stone I use is cold-connected, assembled with wire and never with heat: a briolette is drilled through its narrowest point, which is exactly where the stone is most brittle. Store it apart from harder gems like diamonds, sapphires and topaz. To clean it, use warm water, a degreasing dish soap like Dawn and a toothbrush. Ultrasonic cleaners are not safe for stones.

Both work, because labradorite already carries warm and cool tones in its flash. Gold brings out its golden flashes, and sterling silver plays to the blue and teal. In my studio, I often pair labradorite with gold because the warmth of the metal makes the blue flash feel even more electric. I work in 14k gold-filled, 14k gold and sterling silver.

Stones that either echo its cool flash or push against it with warmth. In one of my necklaces, Swiss blue topaz and lemon topaz keep the labradorite's movement in the cooler, more luminous register, while mystic topaz and pyrite pull in warmth and depth. Another sets it with pyrite, hydro quartz, green amethyst, mystic topaz, whiskey topaz, moss aquamarine, crystal points, amethyst and Keshi pearl, so the composition runs warm metallics against cool flash.

Its name comes from Labrador, Canada. The Inuit people of Labrador believed the Northern Lights were once trapped inside coastal rocks, and that a warrior struck the stone with his spear, freeing most of the light into the sky. What remained became labradorite. It is also often called the stone of transformation, which is why some people give it at a turning point. Whether or not you believe in that, the symbolism carries weight as a gift.

My studio is in Denver, Colorado, where I make every piece by hand, one of a kind. You can book a private virtual appointment with me.