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ROCKS!A few samples of the rocks, stones, shells, minerals, etc often found in jewelry. Some of the samples are raw, others will have been polished and/or treated in one way or another. |
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 Abalone (Ear Shell) Found in tropical waters off the coasts of California, South America, Japan, and China. |
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 Agate Found in rocks such as volcanic lava. When split open they have an amazing variety of patterns and colors with a distinctive banding that separates them from other kinds of Chalcedony. (See below) |
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 Alabaster A fine-grained, translucent form of gypsum. |
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 Alexandrite A color-changing form of Chrysoberyl. |
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 Amazonite A green to blue-green member of the Feldspar family. |
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 Amber Golden yellow to orange and Transparent to translucent, amber is the fossilized resin of trees. It usually occurs as nodules or small irregularly shaped masses often with a cracked and weathered surface and may contain insects, moss, lichen, or pine needles trapped millions of years ago while the resin was still sticky. |
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 Amethyst A crystalline quartz in shades of purple, lilac, or mauve, Amethyst is Dichroic, showing a bluish or reddish purple tinge when viewed from different angles. Some are heat-treated to change the color to yellow, producing citrine. |
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 Ametrine Crystals that are part citrine and part amethyst. |
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 Ammonite A well known fossil, with a ribbed spiral shell, from the age of the dinosaurs. |
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 Andalusite Occurs in relatively small amounts in various metamorphic rocks. Characterized by a shifting kaleidoscope of color as it is rotated. |
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 Apatite Apatite comes in a variety of colors ranging from yellow to green, white, pink, blue or purple. |
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 Aquamarine A blue-green stone. |
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 Aventurine Green, blue, raspberry — mostly dark green with metallic iridescence caused by fuchsite (green mica) or red to gold-brown caused by hematite leaves. Aventurine is a variety of mineral (usually quartz or feldspar) which is spangled with bright particles of mica, hematite, etc. |
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 Azurite A dark blue, metallic mineral. |
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 Beryl Better known as emerald, aquamarine or heliodor, Beryl is composed of beryllium aluminum silicate, which is colorless when pure, but takes on a variey of colors from various impurities. |
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 Black Onyx Onyx is similar to agate, but it has straight rather than curved bands. These may be brown and white or black and white. Since ancient Egyptian times, onyx has been stained to improve or change its color. Much onyx has been produced by soaking agate in a sugar solution, then heating it in sulfuric acid to carbonize the sugar particles. Found worldwide. Onyx is formed by the deposition of silica in gas cavities in lava, which results in the distinctive bands. |
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 Bloodstone An opaque, green, spotted varieties of chalcedony. The dark green of bloodstone is spotted with red because of the presence of iron oxides. The spots seem to resemble blood, thus giving the stone its name. |
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 Calcite Calcite is colourless or white and can become green, pink, peach, golden, orange, yellow, red, blue, grey, or black when other compounds blend with it during formation. The various crystallized forms of calcite include masses, grains, stalactites, scalenohdrons, and rhombohedrons. It is, however, characterized by the rhombohedron crystallization. |
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 Carnelian (Cornelian) Light to dark reddish brown or orange, a translucent variety of Chalcedony. |
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 Chalcedony White to gray, brown, blue, black; clear red to brownish red (Carnelian); bright green with red spots (Bloodstone); variegated and banded (Agate); with moss like or treelike inclusions (Moss Agate); apple-green (Chrysoprase); variegated and mottled red, yellow, brown (Jasper); whitish, dull gray, smoky brown to black (flint). Chalcedony is a form of quartz crystal. |
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 Charoite Lilac-colored to violet. Translucent to opaque. Named after a river in Siberia, Russia. Recognized in 1978 as independent mineral. It's found in Russia. |
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 Chinese Cloisonne Predominantly blue, Cloisonne is base-hammered, soldered, enameled, polished and gilded. |
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 Chrysolite A brown or yellow-green olivine found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. |
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 Chrysoprase / Prase Bottle green (See also Chalcedony) The most valued variety of chalcedony. The color, derived from the presence of nickel, may fade in sunlight and become confused with fine jade. |
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 Citrine Medium to dark gold, Citrine is the yellow or golden yellow variety of quartz. The yellow coloration, due to the presence of iron, is also responsible for the name, derived from the word citrus. natural citrine is usually a pale yellow, but rare; most citrine is a heat-treated amethyst. |
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 Coral White, pink, red, black. |
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 Dolomite A translucent material consiting of a carbonate of calcium and magnesium. |
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 Emerald Traces of chromium and vanadium in the crystalline structure produce the green color. A member of the Beryl family. |
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 Garnet Blood red to brownish plum to black to green. |
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 Gaspeite Light green. Opaque. |
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| Gold Vermeil Gold electroplate over sterling silver. |
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 Hematite Blackish grey with a metallic lustre. Usually occurs as massive, opaque material with a metallic luster, showing a blood red color when cut into thin slices |
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 Iolite Otherwise known as Cordierite. Violet blue. Crystallizes in the form of masses, grains, and short prismatic crystals. The color range includes blue, brown, yellow, dark violet, grey, and green. This mineral also exhibits the pleochroic qualities; i.e., X-axis showing clear yellow, Y-axis showing dark violet, blue, or brown, and the Z-axis showing clear blue. In some cases a metamorphic change has occurred in the iolite and the colors which are seen are shades of grey-green, green-grey, and brown-grey.Iolite is called the "violet stone". |
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 Jade Soft to medium mint green to Dark green (Jadeite and Nephrite are its two types.) |
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 Jasper A massive, fine-grained, opaque variety of Chalcedony. It occurs in shades of brown, grayish blue, red, yellow, and green and mixtures of these. |
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 Jet Like coal, was formed from the remains of wood immersed in stagnant water millions of years ago, then compacted and fossilized by the pressures of burial. Jet is black or dark brown but may contain pyrite inclusions which have a brassy color and metallic luster. Jet takes a good polish and is often faceted. |
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 Labradorite The plagioclase feldspar that is most commonly faceted as a gemstone. It may be orange, yellow, colorless, or red, but the material that shows a play of color, or "schiller," is the most popular for use in jewelry. |
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 Lapis Lazuli A royal blue stone often associated with royalty. |
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 Malachite Green with color banding. Usually found in opaque green masses, its color derived from copper. Crystals are too small for faceting, but the massive material is carved or polished in many ways to reveal the alternating bands of light and dark green. |
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 Moldavite Otherwise kown as Bouteille Stone or Water Chrysolite, a tekite formed during meteoritic action which produced a "strew field" of this beautiful green stone. It is one of the rarest varieties of tekite, was formed over 15 million years ago, and is the only known "gem quality" stone of extra-terrestrial origin. |
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 Moonstone The opalescent variety of orthoclase, with a blue or white sheen like the shine of the moon, caused by the reflection of light from the internal structure whichhas alternating layers of albite and orthoclase feldspar. |
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 Mother of Pearl The inner nacreous layer of a mollusk, or sometimes of a snail shell which has an iridescent play of color. The mother-of-pearl of the pearl mussel is most often used. Accordingly, the main suppliers are the pearl farms. The basic color is usually white; it is naturally dark in the mother-of-pearl from Tahiti |
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 Obsidian A natural glass formed from volcanic lava that cooled too quickly for crystallization to occur. The color may be uniform, striped, or spotted. Some inclusions give obsidian a metallic sheen, while internal bubbles or crystals produce a "snowflake" effect (snowflake obsidian) or iridescent flashes of color. |
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 Opal blue/green: AAA-Grade. red/green: AA-grade. white-based: A-B grade. |
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 Pearls Vary in color form white to brown or black, depending on the type of mollusk and the water. They are sensitive to acids, dryness, and humidity, and so are less durable than many other gems |
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 Peridot Also known as Olivine or Chrysolite. Medium green, yellow-green, olive-green, brown. |
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 Pietersite Crystallizes in the form of masses, the structure a result of inclusions in jasper where the inclusions are pseudomorphs after asbestos. The color is blue/black and the mineral exhibits a chatoyant quality. |
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 Prehnite Yellow-green, brown-yellow. Transparent, translucent with a vitreous to mother-of-pearl luster. Prehnite cats eye occurs. |
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 Pyrite Also known as Fools Gold. With its brassy yellow color, pyrite is often mistaken for gold. It occurs as cubes that have twelve faces, each with five edges. Pyrite has been used in jewelry for thousands of years, and examples from the ancient civilizations of the Greeks, Romans, and Incas have been found. |
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 Quartz Also known as Rock Crystal. Colorless and transparent,Rock Crystall is the most widely distributed variety of quartz, one of the most common minerals of the Earth's crust. The crystals, usually found as colorless hexagonal prisms with pyramidal ends and striations perpendicular to their length, they are often twinned. |
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 Rhodonite Pink or rose red color, although material containing black veins is more popular than a uniform pink. Massive rhodonite is usually opaque to translucent and is carved or cut as cabochons or beads. |
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 Rhyolite Crystallizes in the form of fine-grained felsite, consisting mainly of alkaline feldspars and quartz. The color ranges include all colors except for dark gray, dark green, and black. |
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 Rose Quartz Light to medium pink to almost white. |
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 Ruby Plum red. A red member of the Corundum family. The rarest of gemstones and correspondingly expensive, especially in sizes of three carats or more. |
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 Sapphire An aluminium oxide which, when other than red, is called a Ruby. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give corundum blue, yellow, pink, purple, orange, or greenish color. Pink-orange corundum are also sapphires, but are instead called Padparadscha. |
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 Sardonyx A form of Onyx with white and red bands. |
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 Serpentine The name serpentine refers to a group of predominately green minerals that occur in masses of tiny inter grown crystals. The two main types uges from light to dark blue and is a form of plancheite. |
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 Silver Pure silver, like pure gold is too soft for most uses and is often alloyed. Though many metals may be used, copper is preferred since it greatly toughens the alloy without detracting from the bright shine characteristic of silver. |
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 Sodalite whose name reflects its sodium content, is found in all shades of blue and is a major constituent of the rock lapis lazuli, so the two are easily confused. |
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 Spinel Many large red stones formerly thought to be rubies or red diamonds recently have been correctly identified as spinel. They are very brilliant and come in many colors including red, pink, blue, and green. |
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 Sugilite Also known as Luvulite,Sugilite is a relatively rare pink to purple cyclosilicate mineral with a complex chemical formula. Crystallizes in the hexagonal system with prismatic crystals. The crystals are rarely found and the form is usually massive. |
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 Sunstone A metallic shiny plagioclase feldspar. Typically has a red, or more rarely, a green or blue glitter which is caused by light on tiny hematite or goethite platelets. |
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 Swarovski Crystal The finest full cut and polished crystal with a high lead content which accounts for its brilliance and refraction of light. Each piece is full cut, polished and assembled with the highest quality standards. Lead crystal is made from a mixture of silica (sand), potash and lead oxide. To be considered "lead crystal" the content of lead oxide must be at least 24%. It is this mixture that offers exceptional clarity and prismatic colors. The exclusive Swarovski formula is, of course, a closely guarded secret, as are the cutting and polishing techniques. |
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 Tanzanite named after the East African state of Tanzania, the only place in the world where it is found, it is now one of the most coveted of gemstones. a blue variety of the gemstone zoisite. |
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 Tiger Eye Black with iron oxide staining which gives it yellow and golden brown stripes. A type of chatoyant quartz. |
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 Topaz A mineral that occurs colorless, yellow, green and rarely red. |
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 Turquoise A semi-precious stone often called the Turkish stone, probably because the Turks used it so much. Also highly prized by the Aztecs and Navahos, it has been mined for thousands of years in the Sinai peninsular. |
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 Zincite A very rare mineral found almost exclusively in Poland where the conditions within the large smoke stacks of a Zinc smelting facility permit these amazing crystals to form and attach themselves to the insides of the smoke stacks. |
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 Zircon a natural stone often used to imitate diamonds. Not to be confused with cubic zirconia, a synthetic stone. |
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