Kyanite, also known as Disthene, is a scarce aluminosilicate mineral, which is best known for its deep and rich colours. Kyanite deposit can be found in places like Burma, Brasil, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Nepal, India, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania and the United States. It is widespread to find Kyanite in Quartz, taking up to 40% of the whole mineral. 

Its name comes from the Greek word “Kyanos” meaning blue, so it’s no surprise that the most common colour of Kyanite is blue. Other colours that are specific for Kyanite are green, grey, yellow, pink and black. Black Kyanite is said to be the fascinating one and is also more used in crystal healing. Because almost every piece of Kyanite has Sapphire-like blue colour, Kyanite is sometimes mistaken for Sapphire and is very often called the “poor man’s Sapphire”.

How can you tell apart blue kyanite and sapphire?

Even though both Blue Kyanite and Sapphire are in India called “nilamani stones”  there are quite a few differences between them. We will cover the first two differences.

First of them is the hardness. Sapphire stands for number 9 on the Mohs scale, making it one of the hardest gemstones ever. Kyanite, on the other hand, has number 4 to 7.5, which depends on the cut of the gemstone. This means that Kyanite is more prone to scratches. 

The second difference is the presence of inclusions. It’s simple – Kyanite naturally has white inclusions. Sapphire can also have inclusions, but there are not that eye-catching.

Meaning and beneficial properties of Kyanite

Although Kyanite isn’t a birthstone, it is strongly connected to Zodiac signs such as Libra, Aries and Taurus. Kyanite is one of the self-cleansing stones. This means that it isn’t holding on negative energy. Therefore it doesn’t require cleansing. 

Kyanite is great for meditation, letting go of negative thoughts and bad habits. Kyanite encourages communication and honesty in relationships and helps to start relationships. This mineral is very calming for both body and mind. It helps with anger, negativity, frustration and stress. Helps with nightmares and provides better sleep. Kyanite helps with infections, low or high blood pressure and any other type of pain.

Kyanite structure and jewellery

There are a few reasons why is Kyanite more expensive and special. One of them si polymorphism – the ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure. Another interesting fact is that Kyanite is made up of different layers, which makes it easy to split. This is called the “perfect cleavage”. This combined makes Kyanite very hard to cut in any shape. 

Trendy cuts are the oval, round and emerald cuts, which make Kyanite look stunning. Kyanite is mainly set in rings and earrings together with silver or white gold.