Labradorite is a stone that reveals itself slowly. At first glance, it can appear quiet—smoky grey, blue-green, unassuming. But tilt it gently in the light, and something extraordinary happens. Iridescent flashes ignite beneath its surface: electric blues, molten golds, flashes of green and violet. It’s as though another world is hidden inside the stone, waiting for the right moment to emerge.

This phenomenon, known as labradorescence, is what gives labradorite its unmistakable magic. The colour doesn’t sit on the surface; it moves, shimmers, and disappears depending on how the stone is held. Labradorite refuses to be static. It asks to be worn, turned, lived with and enjoyed from all angels.

The stone takes its name from Labrador, Canada, where it was first recorded by European settlers in the late 18th century. Long before that, Indigenous Inuit peoples knew the stone well. According to legend, the Northern Lights once fell from the sky and became trapped in the rocks along the Labrador coast. A warrior struck the stones with his spear, freeing most of the lights back into the heavens—leaving behind fragments of their glow, forever captured within labradorite.

This story still feels written into the stone itself.

Unlike gemstones prized for clarity and uniformity, labradorite has always occupied a more mysterious place in jewellery history. It rose to popularity later than many traditional gems, finding favour during periods when artists and designers were drawn to the unconventional and the expressive. Its shifting colours and unpredictable nature made it a symbol of transformation, intuition, and inner worlds rather than outward display.

Labradorite is often associated with August as a modern birthstone, though its connection to birth months is far more fluid than traditional gemstone lists. Those lists—formalised in the early 20th century—were shaped largely by commercial convention. Labradorite’s later inclusion reflects something different: a cultural shift towards choosing stones for personal resonance rather than prescribed symbolism.

In this way, labradorite feels deeply contemporary.

It’s a stone for those who don’t want to be immediately understood. For those drawn to depth over sparkle, to complexity over perfection. Each piece of labradorite behaves differently. Some stones flash boldly in daylight; others reveal their colour only in low light, or when the wearer moves just so. No two are alike just as no two stories unfold the same way.

This unpredictability makes labradorite especially beautiful in handmade jewellery. Textured settings, organic forms, and subtle asymmetries allow the stone’s character to shine without forcing it into uniformity. Labradorite doesn’t want to be over-polished or tightly controlled—it wants space to breathe.

Across cultures, labradorite has been associated with protection, creativity, and transformation. It’s often described as a stone that strengthens intuition and encourages self-discovery. Whether you take these meanings symbolically or spiritually, there’s something undeniably compelling about a gemstone that only reveals its brilliance when you slow down enough to notice.

Worn over time, labradorite becomes familiar in a deeply personal way. You learn how it catches the light. You notice new colours on different days. It feels less like an object and more like a companion.

At AOK, I'm drawn to labradorite for exactly this reason. Each stone feels like a small universe, holding light, shadow, and movement within it. This week’s small drop of labradorite pieces celebrates that individuality—stones chosen not for uniform flash, but for depth, nuance, and character.

Like the Northern Lights they’re said to contain, these pieces aren’t meant to be captured all at once. They’re meant to be worn, noticed, and rediscovered—again and again.

From the 30th January @ 10AM - a new collection of Labradorite pieces will be available to shop for a limited time at www.anyotherkingdom.uk/collections/one-of-a-kind