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In 2005/6 we discovered a pocket of tugtupite mixed with what we believe is a special variety of chkalovite. The combination resulted in vibrant red fluorescent tugtupite encircling a beautiful pearly white chkalovite. One of the geo-tour members promptly nicknamed this material Greenlandic "Margarosanite".
On the second side are spectacular tugtupite crystals. These pieces are rare, not too many make its way to the market. Tugtupite crystals were almost unheard of prior to our discovery of this deposit. Keep in mind, tugtupite is really found nowhere else in the world, in spite of reports from MSH Canada and Kola Russia, none ever make it to market.
Bright eyes of blue/green chkalovite balance out the assemblage for a truly rich and spectacular specimen. Under longwave the tugtupite shows off its salmon fluorescence.
They were nicknamed "Yooperlites" which is derived from the name “yooper”. A yooper is a nickname for the Upper Peninsula natives and these fluorescent stones quickly gained fame. After data was published on these fluorescent stones, it was discovered that sodalite is the actual true mineral that is fluorescing orange.
365nm UV light is often called "blacklight". Before the advent of longwave UV LEDs, blacklight fluorescent tubes, (the kinds used in hippie days to light up psychedelic posters) were the standard longwave UV light for our hobby. They were not very powerful but they did light a large area.
Enter 365nm UV LEDs
First, an animation showing the difference between the UV flashlight we recommend (365nm filtered UV flashlight) versus unfiltered 395nm UV flashlights we see many folks carrying around at shows. So. much. visible purple light. We selected a bunch of rocks as a demonstration. Took pictures of them under his flashlight without the filter and then with the filter.
