Haüyne Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Haüyne is a sodalite mineral and gemstone known for its vibrant blue coloring. It’s a popular collector’s mineral. The haüyne pronunciation is usually ah-WEEN or how-WEEN.

Is haüyne rare? Definitely. The mineral itself is rare, and haüyne gemstones are exceedingly rare.

How rare is haüyne? Well, developed crystals only come from around a dozen countries, and almost all facetable haüyne material comes from Germany.

Stick around to learn about haüyne gemstones, prices, history, and more!

What is the Haüyne Gemstone?

Haüyne is a rare semi-precious gemstone often found in vibrant blue coloring. The name may be haüyne or hauynite, both spelled with or without the umlaut (the two dots over the u). Other monikers for haüyne include:

• Auina

• Latialite

• Berzeline

• Marialite (now used for a mineral in the scapolite group)

Ever heard of lapis lazuli? Well, haüyne (plus its variety lazurite) makes up a large portion of that stone! As such, haüyne can count as an alternate September birthstone, plus a seventh and ninth wedding anniversary stone.

Haüyne Uses

Industrially, what is haüyne used for?

Most of the industrial uses of haüyne and lazurite are for pigments. The minerals’ powder forms provide an ultramarine blue coloring used in paints, inks, fabric dyes, and lacquers. In fact, these pigments have been used in fabric and paints since at least 500 to 700 AD.

Additionally, scientists have conducted geological research with synthetic haüyne and lazurite stones.

Haüyne Specifications & Characteristics

The idealized formula of haüyne is (Na,Ca)4-8(AI6Si6)O24(SO4S)1-2, but it can also be written as Na3Ca(Si3Al3)O12(SO4). Simplified, it’s a tectosilicate sulfate mineral. In terms of impurities, potassium oxide can compose up to 5 percent of its weight, and water and chlorine may also be present.

The mineral is in the sodalite group alongside:

• Sodalite

• Hackmanite

• Nosean

• Bolotinaite

• Sapozhnikovite

• Vladimirivanovite

• Lazurite

Haüyne forms a series with nosean and sodalite.

Haüyne crystals are dodecahedral (12-faced) or octahedral (8-faced). Twinning is common on {111} as penetration, contact, or polysynthetic twins. These crystals rarely form individually — they’re usually intergrown with other minerals. More often, haüyne occurs as rounded grains.

Haüyne Identification

Compared to other sodalite group minerals, haüyne is the most dense, though still less dense than, say, quartz. Haüyne’s refractive index is similar to that of glass but the highest of any sodalite minerals.

So, what is the identifiable difference between haüyne and sodalite? You can distinguish the two with a nitric acid test, though this will alter the mineral’s appearance.

Put the stones on separate glass slides and drop nitric acid on both. Once the acid evaporates, you’ll see crystals form. If the crystals are gypsum, the stone is haüyne; if they’re chlorite, the stone is sodalite.

Haüyne properties listed:

• Mohs hardness: 5-6

• Color: Usually shades of blue, including greenish-blue plus light, neon, and deep blue; Can be white, colorless, gray, yellow, green, or pink

• Crystal structure: Isometric/cubic

• Luster: Vitreous or greasy

• Transparency: Transparent to opaque

• Refractive index: 1.494-1.509; Usually lower in Tanzanian material (1.488-1.490)

• Density: 2.40-2.60; Material from Eifel, Germany: 2.40; Material from Tanzania: 2.60

• Cleavage: Distinct/good to perfect on {110}

• Fracture: Conchoidal or uneven/irregular

• Streak: Pale blue to white/colorless; Lazurite variety: bright blue

• Luminescence: Fluorescence sometimes present - Orange-red or reddish in SW-UV & orange, pink, reddish-orange, purplish-pink, or red in LW-UV

• Pleochroism: None

• Birefringence: None; Inclusions may cause slight anomalous birefringence

• Dispersion: None

Pictured above: Lazurite on calcite | Image credit: Géry PARENT, CC-BY-SA-4.0

Types of Haüyne

Haüyne only has one variety: lazurite.

Lazurite is a sulfide-bearing variety of haüyne, while haüyne is sulfate-bearing. The primary differences? Lazurite is usually opaque with a bright blue streak and no fluorescence.

Both haüyne and lazurite are predominant parts of the rock lapis lazuli.

Based on 2022 research from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), lapis lazuli stones from Canada and Afghanistan are dominant in haüyne, while those from Chile are dominant in lazurite.

Not all gemologists classify lazurite as a haüyne variety, but all note the two are incredibly similar.

Haüyne Meaning & History

Looking at haüyne’s metaphysical properties, this stone symbolizes rebirth and happiness. Spiritual practitioners believe the crystal encourages generosity, forgiveness, and fresh starts.

Early History

Haüyne’s first unofficial discovery was in 1803, when Italian mineralogist Carlo Giuseppe Gismondi found it at Mount Somma in Campania, Italy. Gismondi named it “latialite,” but didn’t formally publish his findings.

In 1807, Danish mineralogist Tønnes Christian Bruun de Neergaard published the first official discovery of the mineral at the Lake Nemi shore in Lazio, Italy. He named it “haüyne” to honor French mineralogist Rene Just Haüy.

Swiss crystallographer and geographer Louis Albert Necker de Saussure proposed the name “berzeline” in 1831 to honor Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius. This name is sometimes used now for white haüyne stones.

In 1868, James Dwight Dana named the stone “hauynite” temporarily. Today, haüyne and hauynite are both used.

Modern Discoveries

For many years, the only known gem-quality haüynes were blue crystals from Germany. That changed in 2003, when researchers discovered gem-quality yellow-green haüyne material in Tanzania. More blue gem-quality haüynes emerged from Afghanistan in 2006.

Plus, in 2022, archeology researchers found that blue glass and glazes from 13th- and 14th-century Italy, belonging to Emperor Frederick II, were likely made with haüyne.

Shifting gears, what are the healing properties of haüyne?

Haüyne Healing Properties

As a primarily blue healing stone, haüyne joins other blue gemstones in promoting relaxation and sincerity. It’s a great throat chakra stone, helping you understand and express your truest self.

Haüyne is also believed to promote:

• Happiness

• Vulnerability

• Inner peace

• Self-acceptance

Haüyne Gemstone Properties

Besides rarity, the value of haüyne gemstones depends on color, cut, clarity, transparency, carat weight, and treatments.

Color

Most haüyne gems are blue, but like sapphire, this is the most valuable color — specifically neon- and ultramarine-blue shades. Almost all faceted haüyne gems are this color, with the exception of the more recent yellow-green examples from Tanzania.

Lower-quality gem material may be mottled, like white calcite mixed with blue haüyne.

The cause of haüyne’s blue coloring is a charge transfer between sulfur atom clusters.

Cut

Haüyne’s hardness and distinct to perfect cleavage make the already scarce facetable material difficult to cut. Therefore, faceted haüyne gems are highly valuable. Common shapes include round, pear, and freeform cuts.

Opaque haüyne material, often intermixed with stones like sodalite, often become cabochons, but translucent to transparent cabochons are more valuable.

Clarity & Transparency

Clarity, the degree of visible inclusions, affects a stone’s transparency and value. The most valuable haüyne gems have no inclusions and greater transparency.

Possible inclusions in haüyne include:

• Natural glass

• Crystals (e.g. apatite and augite)

• Negative crystals (typically surrounded by healed fractures)

• Bubbles

• Dust-like particles

• Short needle-like crystals

Carat Weight & Size

Most distinct haüyne crystals are under 5 mm long, so the subsequent faceted haüyne gems are rarely bigger than 1-2 carats.

As of March 2020, the Guinness World Record for the largest cut haüyne is a 19.74-carat stone in the Medici Collection, LLC.

Treatments

The only known treatment of haüynes is fracture or cavity filling, done with paraffin wax on some faceted gems.

Haüyne Formation & Sources

Sodalite minerals like haüyne usually form in igneous rocks as the rocks solidify from silica-poor magma. As such, you’ll often find haüyne in alkaline igneous rocks like phonolites.

Common associates are:

• Leucite

• Nepheline

• Calcite

• Afghanite

• Sanidine

Mining Locations

Where is haüyne found? Almost all gem-quality haüyne material comes from Germany, specifically the Eifel Mountains. The only other known sources for gem-quality material are Afghanistan, Tanzania, and Myanmar.

Well-developed haüyne crystals come from:

• Canada

• Chile

• China

• Ecuador

• France

• Morocco

• Russia

• Spain (Canary Islands)

• Tahiti

• Tajikistan

• USA (Colorado, Montana, New York, South Dakota)

Haüyne Price & Value

You probably want to know: is haüyne expensive? It can be, but it all depends on the quality of the stone.

The highest haüyne price per carat goes to bright blue, faceted gems in large sizes with eye-clean clarity. These can generally range from around $850 to $2,500 per carat (or about $130 to $900 each).

Transparent, bright blue cabochons can be similarly priced, around $1,000 to $3,000 per carat. Remember, though: Most of these are under 1 carat, so the overall price will be somewhat lower.

However, you can find opaque, mottled haüyne cabochon parcels for under $1 per carat!

Haüyne Care and Maintenance

Lastly, gemstone care. You can certainly wear haüyne jewelry, but we recommend only occasionally wearing it and getting protective settings, especially for haüyne rings.

Clean haüyne stones with warm water, mild soap, and a soft toothbrush. Avoid letting it contact acids, solvents, or mechanical cleaning systems.

Store separately from other gems to avoid scratches.

Hankering for a Haüyne Gem?

Blue is the rarest color in nature — add haüyne’s rarity and you have a recipe for a highly sought-after gem! Faceted haüyne gems are a true feather in any collector’s cap, but there are also plenty of budget-friendly cabochons out there too. Time to explore!

Buy haüyne gemstones today!