Oregon Sunstone
Oregon’s official state gemstone is the sunstone. Formed in ancient volcanic flows, what makes Oregon sunstones unique is that they contain copper, a metal that is not normally found in feldspar crystals. The copper inside the sunstone can lead to a dazzling variety of colors including clear, yellow/straw, orange, pink, and the most valuable, red and green/teal. The color is determined by the abundance and size of copper trace elements and platelets within the gemstone. These gemstones can also exhibit a shimmering effect called schiller, caused by the microscopic copper platelets inside.
Oregon Sunstone Gems
Common sunstones are found in Mexico, India and Scandinavia, but only in southeastern Oregon are sunstones found in fine gem quality and in such a spectacular variety of colors. At 6.5 to 7 on the Moh’s hardness scale, Sunstone is comparable to tanzanite, amethyst and other popular gemstones and can be polished, faceted, carved and made into jewelry. Native Americans valued the transparent, glittering gems and traded them across North America. Sunstone has been found in ancient burial sites and sacred bundles. In 1992, Tiffany & Co. added the Oregon gem to their lines, calling it American Sunstone.
Sunstone Vials
Most of the sunstone in your vial will be the most common color, light yellow/champagne, but if you look carefully there is a chance that you might find a stone with some color or copper schiller. If you are ever in Oregon and want to find some sunstones yourself the Bureau of Land Management manages a free public collection area allowing visitors to search for sunstones using hand tools.
