Romancing the Stone

Happy Valentines Day!

“For ages, the Inuit of Greenland have understood the power of tugtupite. Legend has it that lovers can cause the stone to glow fiery red just from the heat of their romance. The brilliance and vibrant colors announce the intensity of their love.”

Perhaps the most famous mineral found in Greenland is tugtupite - and is certainly the main quest of those who travel to this remote area. Local villagers spend much of their free time in pursuit of this stone and many legends have risen around tugtupite.

In metaphysical & spiritual healing loreTugtupite (also known as the reindeer stone) is an emotional stone. It can protect one from negative energy of many kinds by wearing or carrying the stone, and is often sought for this shielding property. It is also helpful for removing energy blockages, and to clear the aura. Tugtupite is reputed to strengthen romantic relationships, and expand the love and sexual experience, and cure depressions. Physically tugtupite is used in general healing, purifying blood, to stimulate hormone production, and increase fertility. Tugtupite opens and clears the heart chakra, and will also activate and integrate all the chakras.

Inuit legend attributes tugtupite to “Tutu” - the reindeer girl. Tutu went to the mountains to give birth to her first child and during birth the miraculous life-giving bloods seeped into the mountain stones and created tugtupite. Thus it is known for life, romance and fertility....

(A painting done by a local artist, hanging in the lobby of the Narsaq Hospital, showing Tutu in the moutains giving birth)

What is tugtupite?


Tugtupite is one of the world’s few deep red gemstones, often translucent, and always brightly fluorescent. Often referred to as the "king of fluorescent minerals", it is known worldwide for its beauty under ultraviolet light. When exposed to UV light (or sunlight) the color deepens, sometimes to an almost grape color (a tenebrescent property). This color change can last for weeks, and is easily restored simply by exposure to sunlight.


Gem quality tugtupite is among the rarest of gemstones, only found in remote areas of Greenland - and always in small quantities. In high demand by collectors, the finest specimens are almost always reserved for jewelry. Tugtupite is only found in three areas in the world - Greenland, MSH, Canada, and Kola, Russia. It was first discovered in Greenland in 1957 (by European geologists - the Innuit had known about it for hundreds of years). The mines are located high in the mountains surrounding the fjords in an area known as the Ilimaussaq Complex - a unique geological formation approximately 8km x 20km in area. Greenland is the only supplier of gem quality tugtupite and is the only area where sufficient quantities can be found to supply the gem market with enough material to make this a marketable gemstone. Access to the mines is only by foot (and boat), and the rough material must be carried down the mountain by backpack. (There are no roads in Greenland even interconnecting cities, much less to the remote mountain areas.) The difficulty in finding gem quality specimens, mining them, and then porting them out of the mountains only adds to the value of this extremely unique, rare and beautiful gem.