Oregon Sunstone specialist
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What is Oregon Sunstone?
Oregon Sunstone is found in a remote area of Eastern Oregon and is very hard to find unless you know what you’re looking for.
Oregon Native Americans valued Oregon Sunstone and traded it across the west. They would also use it in medicine ceremonies and in sacred bundles. It has been found in many Native burial sites. The ancient legend is that a warrior was wounded by an enemy’s arrow and died on the ground, his blood staining the rocks red and this is where Oregon Sunstone comes from.
In the late 1800’s Tiffany and Co. of New York was concerned about the availability of diamonds and hearing about Oregon Sunstone, purchased mining rights in the area with the idea of selling “Plush Diamonds” named after the little town of Plush Oregon nearby the deposits. Unfortunately the mining was so difficult and the area so remote that Tiffany gave up on Oregon Sunstones by the 1950’s. In 1987 the Oregon state legislature named Oregon Sunstone as the state gemstone.
Oregon Sunstone
While there are other “sunstones” which are labradorite feldspars, only Oregon Sunstone is “cuprian” containing copper inclusions. It’s these microscopic bits of copper known as “schiller” that give Oregon Sunstone the shimmering effect. Sometimes it appears as a “constellation effect” as seen in the photo below on the left. Sometimes it’s called “cloud schiller” as in the photo on the right, where it looks like little wisps or clouds across the stone. Sometimes you don’t see any schiller at all in the stone, but all Oregon Sunstone contains copper which will color the stone from a champagne gold to pink, to orange to bright red to teal or green or combinations of all these colors.
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We also deal in ethical gemstones from around the world such as ruby, emerald and sapphire as well as Earth Friendly lab created stones.
Our Story
Oregon Sunstone is found in a remote area of Eastern Oregon and is very hard to find unless you know what you’re looking for.
Don’t be confused by imitations (search “andesine” for more information about fakes) or by Indian or African sunstone which contains hematite inclusions rather than copper. You can see the difference when you look at a bright orange piece of “other sunstone” as opposed to Oregon Sunstone. Indian or African sunstone is generally opaque or only slightly translucent and has large multicolored inclusions (see photo below). Oregon Sunstone on my website is all hand dug by me. I saw it come out of the ground in Eastern Oregon and I guarantee the authenticity.
Oregon Sunstone has enjoyed a renaissance in the last few years, especially with people who want a unique or special stone for their jewelry or who want to have US sourced stone. Whatever the reason, we’re glad Oregon Sunstone has been gaining popularity in recent years.
