Sodalite and Hackmanite – Badakhshan, Afghanistan

Contributed by: FMS Admin
Date: May 4th, 2026
Locality: Sar-e-Sang, Kuran wa Munjan District, Badakhshan, Afghanistan (See on Mindat)

Description:
Here are some samples of small cabinet specimens of sodalite and hackmanite from Badakhshan, Afghanistan that I have been collecting. They range from 1.5" to 3.5". They range from clear, lavender, purple, umber, green, teal, blue, gray, and black. The tenebrescence of the hackmanites take a very long time to wash out (sometimes days). If you leave them in the sun, they will never fade and stay purple. Under controlled white lighting, without any UV, the purple slowly fades and the color hues go through many transitions. Or if kept in the dark, the dark purple will remain indefinitely. Every UV wavelength brings an interesting view into the colors of these fluorescent rocks. After turning the UV lamp off the phosphorescence is an intense very long-lasting white with blue tints. Photographed with a 16mm wide angle lens at F22 ISO 100.

Originally posted by UV Studio on Nature's Rainbows in 2016.