About the materials: Vikings used iolite as the world’s first polarizing filter to the oceans when they were far from any coastline. They were able to do this because of the stone’s extreme pleochroism, giving it completely different colors when the crystal is viewed from different directions. A cube cut from iolite will look a more or less violet blue, almost like sapphire, from one side, completely colorless from the other, and a warm amber from another. But when cut properly, all we can see is its treasured typical blue-violet It’s mined in India, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Brazil (those Viking explorers probably mined theirs from deposits in Norway and Greenland). It’s fairly hard, with a Mohs hardness of 7 – 7.5.
Metaphysical: A stone that’s treasured by shamans and psychics to open up energy pathways, it’s also said that iolite is helpful when dealing with addictions, including alcoholism. It assists in detoxification as well as maintaining sobriety. As well, Iolite is also said to help build relationships whether they be new or old.