Sugilite Heart Cabochon Sterling Silver Pendant

Sugilite is for those of us who feel everything a little too deeply, who walk into a crowded room and carry other people's moods home with us. Its purple has a character all its own, a royal violet that can glow almost magenta in the finest pieces, sometimes veined with black. It is also a newcomer: first found in Japan in 1944 and named for the geologist Ken-ichi Sugi, it reached most of us only after it turned up deep in the manganese mines of South Africa's Kalahari.

So young a stone has no ancient lore, and sugilite is linked in modern practice to the Crown Chakra and the Third Eye Chakra of the Hindu and Vedic chakra system. Its energy flows down from the crown through every centre and is at its warmest in the Heart Chakra.

Sugilite is honoured as a stone of love for our own times and as a shield of light for gentle souls, wrapping sensitive people in a sense of protection so they can stay open without being overwhelmed. It is turned to for forgiveness, of ourselves as much as anyone else, for vivid dreams and inner vision, and for the hope that returns when we remember why we are here and what we came to give.

Sugilite's colour is hard to look away from: a velvety grape-to-violet, sometimes mottled with grey or threaded with black manganese, and in the best pieces it seems lit from somewhere inside. Polished smooth, it is silky under the thumb, cool at first touch, with a quiet weight for its size. It is a purple that can win over even those who say purple is not their colour.

A sugilite pendant resting over the heart is a quiet comfort through seasons when the world feels loud or unkind and we need a little more space around us. Some lean on it through work that leaves them drained by other people's needs, others for meditation and dreamwork, or as a reminder to go easier on themselves. It is a treasured gift for a sensitive friend, and for anyone who simply loves a deep, true purple.

Sugilite (Mohs 6-6.5) is tough for its hardness and easy to wear, though harder stones can scratch it. Cleanse with running water, sound, moonlight, or smoke; a soft brush with mild soapy water keeps it bright.