A bit of history of labradorite
Deposits of natural stones are scattered unevenly throughout the planet. Depending on the place of extraction, the same stone can have different characteristics, both decorative and physical. Among the huge variety of natural facing and decorative stone, which is extracted and processed in Ukraine, with its uniqueness, many tones, colors and shades: granite, limestone, marble, sandstone, basalt and many others, labradorite is by far the most valuable. Labradorites are natural stones, which are essentially granular-critical rocks. They formed when the magma solidified in the thickness of the earth's crust.
What is the reason for choosing this particular natural stone? Demand for it has existed for many centuries, primarily as a building and decorative-facing material, which becomes a real decoration and a highlight in decoration and facing. It has long been well known and actively used by architects, designers and builders around the world. Labradorite is hard as granite, but easier to handle, easier to polish. It is frost-resistant and almost resistant to corrosion (due to the lack of iron in its composition). Labradorite Volga Blue has 1 class of radioactivity, that is, it is completely safe for the human body and can be used without restrictions. Decorability of this stone primarily depends on the size, quantity, location and overflow of the so-called "crystals".
Due to its unique property - iris, that is, the ability to form multicolored (green, red, yellow, purple, blue, golden) iridescent gleams on the surface of polished stone, which immediately distinguishes it from other facing types of natural stone, it was appreciated by our ancestors back in ancient times Century. The color scheme of it is very diverse: from dark blue, almost black, to milky white and fiery red. Labradorite is highly polished, polished, and also adopts the texture of the glaze (the surface of natural stone acquires a matte, velvety texture.) Natural material loses even the smallest scratches and chips. This stone is rare enough in the world, and it is due to its smallest price. Its deposits are on the Scandinavian Peninsula, in India, South and North America, South Africa, on the island of Madagascar. But a significant, if not most of the deposits, industrial reserves and the most valuable species of this amazing stone are concentrated in Ukraine, namely in Zhytomyr region.
Officially, Labradorite was discovered in the second half of the 18th century by English missionaries on the Labrador Peninsula in North America (the territory of present-day Canada). Systematizing the mineralogical knowledge accumulated by mankind for the XV??? century, the German scientist AG Werner gave a modern name to the colored stone in 1780. And since then it began to gain popularity as a finishing stone, although in fact labradorite was well known and widely used long before the ХV??? century.
In Ukraine, this stone was well known since the times of Kievan Rus under the names "Peacock Eye" or "Eye of Fire - Birds" and "Wonder - Stone". In the IX - XII century. It began to be used in the construction, lining and decoration of stone churches. Labradorite was used in the mosaic of the altar of the Tithe Church (X century), from which the tomb of the Kyiv prince Mstyslav Volodymyrovych (the son of Volodymyr Monomakh, the 12th century) was made.
Throughout the next centuries, this stone was forgotten. And only in the XIX century a new revival of the Ukrainian labradorite begins, a new path to world fame and recognition. The richest deposits of labradorite were discovered in the first half of the XIX century in the Kyiv, Volyn and Kherson provinces by Dr. Shyrmor (1835). Over time, this stone is actively used in lining, decoration and the erection of monumental structures, such as temples, columns, monuments, pedestals. In large quantities, labradorite was exported to Austria-Hungary, France, Italy and other countries.
Thus, ten columns of the palace of San Donato (Italy), columns of the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv (1886), Transfiguration Cathedral in Zhytomyr (1874) were made from the labradorite of Ukrainian origin. They were decorated and decorated with pylons of the Church of the Ascension and St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
During the time of Ukraine's membership in the Soviet Union and the rapid development of the propaganda of monumentalism in architecture, the real rise of the Ukrainian labradorite begins. For example, in 1927, at the World Exhibition of Building and Decorative Products in New York, the Labradorite Turchinsky deposit (Novy Bobryk, which at the moment is fully worked and mentioned only in the literature) received the highest award - a gold medal, as a decorative material of the highest quality for its Gentle blue hues and cornflower blue.
The Labradorite brand Volga Blue is a product of the main unit for production of the central entrance to the V.I. Lenin mausoleum. Lenin in Moscow. It was used for decoration and facing of metro stations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Tbilisi, Baku, the Khatyn memorial complex in Belarus, the building of the Supreme Council in Kyiv city. Labradorite can be seen on many monuments, pedestals, pedestals and other structures throughout the former USSR.
As of today, Ukrainian labradorite are exported to France, USA, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Japan, India, China, Pakistan, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Poland, Russia and many other countries of the world where cities and streets decorate.