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Discovered in
1806 in
Greenland,
sodalite did not become important as an ornamental stone until
1891 when vast
deposits of fine material were discovered in
Ontario,
Canada.
It has since been named Princess Blue after
Princess Patricia
who, upon visiting Ontario some time after its discovery, chose
sodalite as interior decoration for
Marlborough House
in
England.
00000Although
very similar to
lazurite and
lapis lazuli, sodalite is never quite comparable, being a royal blue
rather than
ultramarine.
Sodalite also rarely contains
pyrite,
a common inclusion in lapis. It is further distinguished from similar
minerals by its white (rather than blue) streak. Sodalite's six
directions of poor cleavage may be seen as incipient cracks running
through the stone. |
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