Rocksday

Sugilite

A rare, intensely magenta-purple silicate prized for cabochons.

Sugilite specimen
Photo: RDCnet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify sugilite

  • Deep magenta to grape purple, usually opaque.
  • Often mottled with black manganese minerals.
  • Hardness about 6.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Wessels mine, South Africa
  • Iwagi Island, Japan

Uses

Cabochons and beads.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

It's named after Japanese petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi, who co-discovered it.

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