 | SUGILITE | Hardness | 6 – 6.5 | | Color | PURPLE, VIOLET - PINK | | Origin | SOUTH AFRICA | | Transparency | OPAQUE | | |
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| Sugilite (also known as luvulite) is a relatively rare pink to purple cyclosilicate mineral with the complex chemical formula: Sugilite crystallizes in the hexagonal system with prismatic crystals. The crystals are rarely found and the form is usually massive. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6.5 .
Sugilite was first described in 1944 by the Japanese petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi (1901-1948) for an occurrence on Iwagi Islet, Japan where it is found in an aegirine syenite intrusive stock. It is found in a similar environment at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. In the Wessels mine in northern Cape Province of South Africa sugilite is mined from a strata-bound manganese deposit.
It is also reported from Liguria and Tuscany, Italy; New South Wales, Australia; and Madhya Pradesh, India.
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