Gemstone hunting in Finnish Carelia

Last modified on July 24, 2026 • 1 min read • 80 words

Last Sunday, we participated in the spring excursion of the Finnish Gemstone Hobbyists’ Society ( Suomen Jalokiviharrastajain Yhdistys  ) to a spectrolite quarry near Ylämaa in Finnish Carelia. Spectrolite  is a variety of labradorite  , which shows a rich iridescense. The Finnish spectrolite is peculiar because of its dark base color. Strictly speaking, the term “spectrolite” applies to the Finnish variety of iridescent labratorite only. The trip was a success as we returned tired and with many kilograms of specimens.