Gemstone Glossary

Kornerupine

Kornerupine is a rare mineral well known for its color change property and its green coloring, which is as intense as that of Emerald. Kornerupine was first found in Fiskernaes, Greenland. It was named after the Danish geologist and explorer of Greenland, A. N. Kornerup (1857-1881).

Depending on the angle from which Kornerupine is viewed, its colors can range from brown, colorless, green, greenish-yellow, yellow or even pink to lavender. Commonly the stone is oriented to cut on the green axis as it claims the highest value.


Kornerupine is also found in cat’s eye stones. When polished as cabochons the stones exhibit a special characteristic that resembles the eye of a cat caught in headlights at night. This effect is caused by inclusions of fine, slender parallel fibers in the gem that reflect light into a single dynamic sliver of light running along the center of the crystal.

Kornerupine has been found in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka; Betroka, Madagascar; Harts Range, Australia; Kenya and the Nuuk area of Greenland. The Madagascar deposit produces some of the finest color stones.

Kornerupine is formed from Magnesium Aluminum Iron Boro-silicate Hydroxide [Mg4(Al, Fe)6(Si, Al, B)5O21(OH)]. It ranks 6 to 7 on the Moh’s Scale of Hardness and has a Specific Gravity of approximately 3.3. Kornerupine crystals are vitreous and transparent to translucent.

Due to its scarcity, Kornerupine is generally considered to be a collectors stone. It is also imminently suitable to make into jewelry and is now becoming more and more popular in the gemstone market.

Kornerupine is considered a teaching and communication stone. It is also said to help stabilize the emotional swings of manic-depressives and assists in seeing through the false agreements in one's current reality.