Gemstone Descriptions
AGATE - a form of Chalcedony found in all varieties of colors.
AMAZONITE - a Feldspar mineral with a mottled green appearance. A green stone that can go from pale seafoam in color to dark teal.
AMBER - fossilized tree resin dating back 20 to 40 million years ago. Its color varies from golden yellow to orange and red.
AMETHYST - a quartz with manganese creating different shades of purple (from pale violet to a deep, intense purple) according to the iron presence during formation.
AVENTURINE – from the quartz family. Green Jade-like color and opaque. Quartzite composed of interlocking quartz particles and mica crystals. Used in ancientChina for the seal of the emperor.
BLUE LACE AGATE - light blue with soft white banding. Another form of chalcedony (quartz) gemstone known for its hardness and unusual appearance.
BLUE TOPAZ - transparent semi-precious gemstone ranging in color from pale baby blue to a brilliant deeplight blue color.
BOTSWANA AGATE - multi-colored with many bands and patterns. Each bead can be different ranging from a solid dark color to an almost translucent pale color to ones with many bands. See Agate.
CARNELIAN - an agate which is from the chalcedony family of minerals. Uniform deep translucent orange/red. The color comes from iron.
CITRINE - a from of quartz found in a vibrant yellow color ranging from yellow to golden yellow. It is a form of amethyst that has turned this color by being heated (which can happen naturally as well as being influenced by man).
FANCY JASPER - a multi colored jasper ranging in color from pale grey, to shades of lavender, mauves, greens, and browns.
FLUORITE - comes in almost every color. Purple, green, colorless, white, yellow, pink, red, blue and black. Transparent to translucent.
FRESH WATER PEARLS - are farmed in fresh water and grown in mussels. They are usually light in color and can be died to almost any permanent color.
GARNET - blood red, solid incolor. The name is derived from the Latin word granatum (pomegranate) alluding to the garnets color and seed-like crystal formation.
HEMATITE - Iron rich dark steel gray with metallic sheen. Crystallizes in tubular and rhombohedral masses columnar or granular shapes. It's trade names are black diamond, black pearl, and Alaskan black diamond. In Tahiti, some people try to pass it off as Black Pearls.
HOWLITE - Milky white, usually with a grey matrix. Found crystallized in white nodules and compact masses.
JADE - Green opaque and semi-opaque primarily, although, it comes in many other colors; red, brown, and blue. Formed in large masses, Nephrite jade comprises actinolite contributing to color which varies from olive grey, green-grey, spinach green, misty green, apple green, light green.
JASPER - Jasper is an opaque and fine grained variety of Chalcedony. It is found in many colors including: red, brown, pink, yellow, green, grey/white and shades of blue.
LABRADORITE - a form of feldspar. Labradorite is a very interesting mineral. Depending on the angle from which the specimen is viewed, it can appear to be a nondescript gray-green rock or it can display a grand range of colors(usually blue or green) known as labradorescence or schiller that flashes out at you at different angles as you turn it. This phenomenon can be seen in specimens which are uncut, but it is fantastically clear in cut and polished specimens.
LAPIS LAZULI - is a combination of minerals principally lazulite giving the deep blue color and a minimally calcite white color with inclusions of pyrite sometimes seen as flecks - brass yellow in color. It was prized by ancient Egyptians for use in jewelry, but also powdered for use in cosmetics, medicines, and ritualistic ceremonies.
LEOPARD SKIN JASPER - Leopard Skin Jasper is a strikingly beautiful member of the Quartz family. It is usually a tan stone covered with colored dots, like the skin of a leopard. Colors can include from tan, pink, red, grey and black.
MOONSTONE - from the feldspar family. White with a blue or white sheen like the shine of the moon. This is caused by the reflection of light from the internal structure, made up of alternating layers of albite and orthoclase feldspar from the feldspar family. Translucent whitish color
with iridescent blue or white sheen.
MOSS AGATE - this stone gets its name from the green patches of color which resemble moss growing on a rock. Various shades of gray with streaks and flecks of dark green to black. Transparent to opaque has varying shades of green, brown, yellow and white.
MOTHER OF PEARL - in its natural state is usually a beautiful shimmery tan and often called Caramel Mother-of-Pearl. When Mother-of-Pearl is bleached, it turns a snowy, shimmery white. Mother-of-Pearl is also sometimes black. May be referred to as “Oyster Shell”.
ONYX - a member of the chalcedony family which also includes carnelian, agate, bloodstone, etc. Occurring naturally in a variety of colors, black onyx is polished to enhance appearance, a member of the quartz family.
PERIDOT - is Silicate of Magnesium and Iron. Peridot is the gem form of the mineral olivine. Because the iron which creates the color is an integral part of its structure, it is found only in green, ranging from a summery light yellowish green to a 7-up bottle green.
PICASSO JASPER - was formed when magna covered limestone fields during prehistoric times. The pattern of color is from magma being forced through heat and pressure fractures in the limestone, painting the material with gray and tan colors streaked with black lines. This colorization appeared to be like a Picasso painting, hence the name.
PICTURE JASPER - exhibits the spectrum of creams and browns. Picture jasper is a petrified or silicated mud that dripped into gas pockets in molten lava. It became super-heated and then solidified forming the unusual banded patterns which are typical of this stone. Some say it is called Picture Jasper because the pattern in the stones
looks like landscape pictures.
QUARTZ CRYSTAL - is colorless and transparent. It is also known as “Rock Crystal”. Other colors of quartz have special names such as: Rose Quartz, Citrine, and Amethyst. Brown quartz is often referred to as Smokey Quartz. Smokey Quartz is often irradiated clear quartz.
RED JASPER - see Jasper
RHODOCHROSITE - the pink color of rhodochrosite is caused by the element manganese and it is formed when manganese is dissolved by ground water and combines with a carbonate material and then drips off the ceiling of caves and crevices deep underground. It is pink with white.
RHODONITE - is named after the Greek word for rose, rhodon. Its rose-pink color is distinctive. Rhodonite is usually associated with
black manganese minerals which form attractive patterns in the piece.
RHYOLITE - consists mainly of feldspars and quartz. It includes a wide range of colors that form intricate patterns. These all have a green matrix.
RIVER JASPER - see Jasper. Off-white in color.
ROSE QUARTZ - Named for its pink color (from titanium), it's often crackled. It is translucent and can range in color from pale peach to pink.
SILVER LEAF JASPER - is a silvery semi-precious gemstone composed of Silicon Dioxide, reminiscent of silvery leaves in a forest, usually with very interesting patterns. The terms jasper, onyx, agate and chalcedony are largely interchangeable, however agates are usually more translucent and characteristically, have banding or patterns of some sort. Jaspers tend to be more colorful, more opaque and massive, lacking patterns.
SMOKEY QUARTZ - is a clear gray or brown variety of crystalline quartz, color ranges from medium light tan to medium dark brown
SNOWFLAKE OBSIDIAN - Obsidian is natural glass formed by volcanic lava that cooled too quickly. It is usually black. When there are bubbles or crystal inclusions, it is often called snowflake obsidian. It is black with white markings.
SODALITE - is an opaque, navy blue stone usually with white streaks. Sodalite is named in reference to its sodium content.
TIGER EYE - is a variety of quartz. It is an opaque stone, with a silky sheen and natural iridescence, which gives the illusion of an eye; hence the name. The color usually consists of golden, brown and black shimmering bands, but examples are also found in a reddish brown color.
TURQUIOSE - an Opaque stone, which, as its name suggests is turquoise in color. This turquoise color can range from green to blue. The presence of copper gives turquoise a sky blue color with a dark matrix usually black veining due to inclusions. It also sometimes has inclusions of white Marble and Pyrites, much as Lapis Lazuli.
UNIKITE - an opaque granitic rock with main parts of aggregate
being quartz and feldspar, as well as greenish epidote, where the olive green color is mixed up with salmon pink sections.
YELLOW AVENTURINE - Yellow opaque and semi-opaque. Most jade is green primarily although it comes in many other colors; red, brown and blue.
YELLOW JADE - yellow translucent color. See Jade.
YELLOW TURQUISE - turquoise that has colors from yellow and green to brown. See Turquoise.
ZEBRA JASPER - a deep olive green stone with white banding. See Jasper.
