Coral makes jewellery of a very special fascinating charm: the perfect embodiment of mankinds yearning for summer, sun and faraway seas. The name as such, however, is still puzzling to linguists. Some ...
Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They show the most beautiful, deepest and most brilliant green imaginable: Emerald green. Inclusions are allowed, and nevertheless, in top qualities fine Emerald are even more valuable than diamonds. The name Emerald was derived from French "esmeraude" which in turn goes back via Latin to...
Peridot is an ancient and yet currently very popular gemstone. It is so old that it can be found even in Egyptian jewellery from the early second millennium BC. The stones used in those days came from an occurrence on a little volcanic island in the Red Sea, about 70...
Named from the French name for lemon,"citron," many citrines have a juicy lemon color. Citrine includes yellow to gold to orange brown shades of transparent quartz. Sunny and affordable, citrine can brighten almost any jewelry style, blending especially well with the yellow gleam of polished gold. In ancient times, citrine...
Facets are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure. Gemstones commonly have facets cut into them in order to improve their appearance. Of the many hundreds of facet arrangements that...
Hematite is the most powerful gemstone to use for grounding. It can help you clear away confusion and orient you toward practical action in the real world. It brings the energy of higher consciousness down through the chakras to your root, and helps you transform that energy into physical reality. Hematite bracelets are...
Gypsum is found in nature in mineral and rock form. As a mineral, it can form very pretty, and sometimes extremely large, crystals. As a rock, gypsum is a sedimentary rock, typically found in thick beds or layers. It forms in lagoons where ocean waters high in calcium and sulfate...
The name "topaz" is derived from the Greek topazos, "to seek," which was the name of an island in the Red Sea that was difficult to find and from which a yellow stone (now believed to be a yellowish olivine ) was mined in ancient times. In...
Rose Quartz is a form of quartz that ranges in color from pink to deep red. The pink can be almost rose red and some African verities border on lavender. The color seems to be caused by iron and titanium impurities. However the color of rose quartz is still not completely...
Metaphysical healing using crystals has in some form, been practiced by almost every culture on Earth. Before we look at specific techniques, it is essential to get some idea of the underlying principles that inspired the use of crystals in healing. Healers of crystal healing state that crystals are...
Garnet - aren't these the wonderfully deep red gemstones which are often found in antique jewellery? Well, this is only the partial truth, as a warm and deep red is indeed the most frequently occurring colour for Garnets. But unfortunately only few people know that the realm of Garnets holds...
This gemstone is called the gemstone of the Vikings, Iolite is also very often mistaken for Tanzanite. It derives it's name from the Greek work 'ios' which means violet. This gemstone is bluish violet in color, Iolite with prominent blue color tones resembles blue sapphire and in lighter blue violet...
Dinosaurs have been more popular than ever since their starring role in the movie Jurassic Park. A more surprising result of the movie's popularity has been a worldwide surge in demand for amber jewelry. Although amber's use in adornment is probably as old as mankind, in recent history it has...
Sugilite, a fairly recent discovery (1944) is found in Japan, Canada and India. The most important occurrence was found in 1975 in the Kalahari Desert, Northern South Africa. In 1979 a large deposit of gem grade sugilite was found 3200 feet below the original discovery. Sugilite is named for the Japanese...
The name Aquamarine is derived from the Latin aqua (water) and mare (sea). Aquamarine is one of our most popular and best-known gemstones, and distinguishes itself by many good qualities. It is almost as popular as the classics; ruby, sapphire and emerald. In fact it is related to the emerald both...
Malachite is copper carbonate formed from very small crystals. It is usually found with alternating layers of light green and darker green. These color layers give malachite its distinctive appearance.Malachite is sometimes called the stone of transformation for its ability to help you on your path to spiritual growth. It...
Ancient and yet always at the height of current fashion: that is Turquoise for you. Its brilliant sky-blue belongs to the all-time favourite trend colours in the world of fashion and jewellery.In many cultures of the Old and New World this gemstone has for thousands of years been appreciated as...
Opal is a sedimentary stone. Under proper conditions, water percolates through the earth, becoming rich in dissolved silicates. When it enters a cavity, the silicates are deposited as tiny spheres. If they are uniform in size and shape, they will diffract light. If they are random in shape and arrangement,...
The many colors of fluorite are truly wonderful. The rich purple color is by far fluorite's most famous and popular color. Fluorite Pebble with Silver BraceletClick to view this item It easily competes with the beautiful purple of amethyst. Often specimens of fluorite and amethyst with similar shades of purple are used in...
Labradorite (also called Spectrolite sometimes) is a considered by mystics to be a stone of transformation. It is said to clear, balance and protect the aura. It is purported to help provide clarity and insight into your destiny, as well as attract success. It is used in metaphysics for dream...
A very common, coarse-grained variety of the silica mineral quartz that ranges in colour from nearly black through smoky brown. No distinct boundary exists between smoky and colourless quartz. Its abundance causes it to be worth considerably less than either amethyst or citrine. Heating bleaches the stone, the colour sometimes...