Commissioned piece - Sugilite

My friend Vanessa gave me two donuts - one for me, one for her.

She had seen my Green Man necklace and wanted something similar but with a donut. She called these Pink Sugilite. I have never heard of it and was thrilled. I have done days of searching to find out more information and wanted to share it with you.

While searching for sugilite I only found the classic purples that we all know and love, it wasn't till I did a search for lavulite, another name for sugilite, did I find examples like the donuts pictured.

Sugilite or Lavulite is a beautiful stone and a fairly recent find in the gemstone world. Named after Ken-ichi Sugi, the discoverer of the gem, sugilite was introduced in 1944. Found on Iwagi Islet in Japan, it has since been found in Canada, Africa, Australia, Italy and India.


Most of us know it like this with it's beautiful opaque waxy luster and hues that range from a pale grayish lavender to a deep dark purple. I myself perfer the darker shades, which is probably why when I was first introduced to sugilite, I got it confused with charoite all the time. Has that ever happened to you?

I had to get the researching out of my way so I could concentrate on her necklace design. Here is how it turned out.














I added the silver bells I got from Rings & Things to give it a whimsical feel, along with garnet heishi cut beads and black crystals.

It is a fun and simple design so not to draw away from that beautiful focal.