Labradorite has become a very popular gemstone in recent years. A few years back, it was virtually unknown to most people. I first saw it about 10 years ago at a gem show. It was apparently named after the original location of origin, the Labrador peninsula in Canada. It is a variety of Feldspar (others include moonstone, amazonite, and sunstone). It is a gray color, but its real allure is an optical effect that it displays when moved in good light. This effect is ironically enough called labradorescence, or the schiller effect. Different pieces of this stone will display more or less labradorescence and also color variations within this optical characteristic. As you can see in the pictures, some areas appear blue, or yellow, or even other colors. I have seen some with amazing rich blues that almost look artificial.

Spectralite is Labradorite from Finland, and some claim there is a difference, but I am unable to tell the difference. Recently I have seen material on the market from Madagascar.

Feldspars have cleavage planes, and because of this, during cutting, one should be careful not to impact the stone too sharply.