Sharing from Light Walker

While most varieties of transparent quartz are valued most when they lack inclusions, some varieties are valued chiefly because of inclusions! The most popular of these is known as rutilated quartz. Rutilated quartz is transparent rock crystal with golden needles of rutile arrayed in patterns inside. Every pattern is different...

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,...

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...

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 are convinced that the Greek wordkoraillon is the root, as this signifies the hard and calcareous skeleton of...

Spinel crystallizes in the isometric system; common crystal forms are octahedra, usually twinned. It has an imperfect octahedral cleavage and a conchoidal fracture. Its hardness is 8, its specific gravity is 3.5–4.1, and it is transparent to opaque with a vitreous to dull luster. It may be colorless, but is...

Since at least 2950 BC, jade has been treasured in China as the royal gemstone, yu. The character for jade resembles a capital I with a line across the middle: the top represents the heavens, the bottom the earth, and the center section, mankind. The word yu is used in...

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...

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...

Himalayan salt is rock salt or halite from a mine in the Punjab Region of Pakistan, which rises from the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It is mined in the Khewra Salt Mine, located in Khewra, Jhelum District, Punjab Region, Pakistan. The foothills of the Salt Range are located 300 km from the...

Calcite can be found in clear, green, gray, yellow, pink, red, and blue. Calcite is calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and will dissolve in dilute hydrochloric acid. Some types are fluorescent in ultraviolet light. Calcite is an aid to perception, allowing you to see things more clearly and to see reality in...

Sunstone is also called aventurine feldspar (a variety of oligoclase). This gemstone varies from golden to orange to red-brown, and can be transparent or translucent. Sunstone is metallic-looking due to sparkling red, orange or green crystalline inclusions (these are hematite or goethite crystals). Sunstone has a beautiful glittering sunlight effect as...

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...

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...

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...

Sodalite crystals are vitreous and transparent to translucent, however massive specimens can appear opaque. Although Sodalite appears similar to Lapis Lazuli, Sodalite is a royal blue rather than ultramarine and rarely contains Pyrite, a common inclusion in Lapis. It is further distinguished from similar minerals by its white streak of Calcite....

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...

Geodes, a term derived from a Greek word meaning earth-shaped, are irregular, roughly spherical bodies. They can be oblong or shaped like invertebrate fossils. Some are hollow and lined with most beautiful and unusual layers and clusters of various mineral crystals, but others are completely filled by inward-growing crystals.   Hollow geodes,...

A pyramid is any man-made structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. The base of a pyramid may be either quadrilateral or trilateral, meaning that a pyramid may have either three or four vertical sides, but all pyramids must have trilateral sides. The measurements of...

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...

Moonstone shows an almost magical play of light as its characteristic feature. It owes its name to this mysterious gleaming which appears different whenever the stone changes its position in movement. Experts call this the “adularescence”, and in earlier times the phases of waxing and waning moon were though to...