“For
ages, the Inuit of Greenland have understood the power of tugtupite.
Legend has it that lovers can cause the stone to glow fiery red just from the
heat of their romance. The brilliance and vibrant colors announce the
intensity of their love.”
The mineral Tugtupite was unknown until 1957, when it was
discovered almost simultaneously in large quantities on the Narsaq peninsula
(the Ilimaussaq complex.) and as a rare mineral in kola penisula The richest
veins are found in the Kvanefjeld area, where Tugtupit has a deep red colour.
The hardness is 6 to 6½ Mohs. It occurs along with white minerals such as Albibe
and Analcime, yellow ones such as Pyrochlore and sphalerite, and black-greenish
ones such as Aegirine. Individually hewn-out Tugtupite are therefore often multi
coloured and veined, which gives the stone its characteristic appearance. In
other places in the area, Tugtupite is found with is light-red, white and even
blue-green colour. The stone's colour can be changel - for instance a strongly
coloured Tugtupite become faded when stored in the dark. However, it regains the
colour when it is exposed to sunlight. Other varieties fade in sunlight but get
their
colour back. These colour changes are due to microscopic
impurities in the mineral's crystal structure. Tugtupite has a fluorescence
behaviour when exposed to long-wave ultraviolet (u.w.) light. Tugtupite was
first introduced as a precious stone by the Royal Court Jeweller, Ove Dragsted.
Today it is widely used in the local production of jewellery in the Narsaq area,
where it's strong and varied colours are utilized. Do you feel the freedom and
greatness flow from the Tugtupit. It awakes forgiveness and the ability to
sacrifice and a endless love to yourself and all living. Both the colour and
energy from the stone is intense glowing. This is a stone which really gives a
wonderful thrilling feeling in the stomach. A feeling of recognition. Oh the
feeling, that awakens the memory and makes it possible for us to place our
feelings and emotions at the right time. It is like bricks in a puzzle, which
solves automatically. It is like being prepared to face even the worst possible
situations. The stone is magnificent for raising the conscience to deal with
work on a higher plane. A little stench of magic. Or like a really good friend
saying "There is not a ordinary day, all days are magical." Tugtupite is faith,
hope an love
Tugtupite was discovered in 1957 close to the
town of Narsaq and to-date has only been found in two other areas - Mt. St.
Hilaire (Canada) and the Kola Peninsula (Russia). The entire occurrence of
tugtupite at Kvanefjeld is only 5 x 25 meters with the tugtupite scattered in
irregular hydrothermal veins up to 50cm wide. Only the tugtupite from Greenland
is deeply colored and valued as a gemstone.
NEW FIND:
Tugtupite from the Tasaq Slope (Ilimaussaq Complex) shows a significant color
change under midwave UV light.
View a (large) animation of the three color
states.
NEW FIND #2:
Tugtupite Crystals
from the Tasaq Slopes. Exceedingly rare,
these are the only images
we know of on the web.
NEW FIND #3:
Tugtupite from the Kvanefjeld area
which is FL bluish/purple under mid-wave.
Chemical formula: Na4AlBeSi4O12Cl. Hardness =
6.5, Density = 2.35
Tugtupite
varies in color from white, pink, to red and crimson. Some blue/white specimens
have been recorded. The fluorescence is a brilliant red under short-wave
ultraviolet light, and a salmon-red under longwave UV. After exposure to UV (or
long periods of sunlight) the red coloration is enhanced (tenebrescense).
Tugtupite
occurs as irregular forms in whitish albite veins with grey-green lujavrite
rock. It can be found throughout the Illimaussaq Complex, but the specimens from
Kvanefjeld are the most sought after - as both jewelry rough and mineral
specimens.
It is most often found associated with albite,
analcime, aegirine, neptunite, and pyrochlore. Most often it is massive, very
few well-developed crystals have been found.
