Information on Stones We Use
Abalone: The Paua Shell from the marine Abalone snail is mainly found on New Zealand´s coasts, shining in opal rainbow colors and thus also called Ocean-Opal or Sea-Opal. Long known in the pacific region as jewelry and a religious item decorating ceremonies and holy places. In Europe Abalone is also famous for its culinaric value.
Agate:Agate is a cryptocrystallin variety of Quartz (SiO2 ), which shows beautiful concentric pictures when cut and polished. Those structures are based upon rhythmic crystallization in layers of different Chalcedony. Agates are often filled geodes, found in many different varieties like Montana Agate, Crazy-lace, Snakeskin and Fire agate
Ammonite: Cephalopod which once swam in shallow marine seas and whose different species are long extinct. The closest living relative to the Ammonite is the chambered Nautilus in the Pacific Ocean. Like the chambered Nautilus, the Ammonite's ability to swim was due to the unique construction of its shell, which contained many air filled chambers. Most of ammonites on the market come from Madagascar, US and Canada. Ammonites are considered a powerful feng shui cure! This basically means that Ammonites have a very strong energy that can shift the energy of any space, to a much higher / better quality of energy.
Amethyst: Amethyst is a type of quartz that is extremely popular and used mainly for ornamental jewelry. Amethyst usually comes in beautiful hues of violent and purple. Sometimes it might be a lavender or pink. However the most sought after Amethyst are those that have a deep purple hue.Amethyst can be found all around the world, however the major deposits of Amethyst are found in southern Brazil, Uruguay and Madagascar. Amethyst found in Southern Brazil are usually light violet. Uruguay Amethyst are the most beautiful, but can have blemishes. The Amethyst in Madagascar are usually red in color. Amethyst is also found in parts of Germany and in Russia, located by the Ural Mountains.Amazonite: Amazonite, also called Amazon Jade or Amazon Stone, is a green to blue-green variety of Microcline, a Feldspar mineral that forms in short prismatic or tabular crystals or in masses. It ranges in hue from bright verdigris green to paler shades of turquoise, sometimes with white, yellow or grey portions, and can be translucent to opaque. It has a vitreous luster, and when polished resembles finely cracked or spider-webbed marble and displays a Schiller effect of pearly iridescence throughout the stone.
Amber:
Amber stone isn't a true gemstone. Rather, amber is fossilized tree resin that can be 30 to 90 million years old. Amber has been highly prized for its warmth and beauty, and has been carved into jewelry and traded among cultures for thousands of years. Amber stone isn't a true gemstone. Rather, amber is fossilized tree resin that can be 30 to 90 million years old. Amber has been highly prized for its warmth and beauty, and has been carved into jewelry and traded among cultures for thousands of years. The Baltic Sea area has been a source of amber since ancient times.Amber is found all over the world: in both North and South America, Sicily, Romania, Lebanon, Myanmar (Burma) and New Zealand.
Ametrine:
Ametrine is a rare and unusual stone which occurs in quartz when amethyst and citrine reside in the same crystal. Because the color zoning effect is natural, no two ametrines will ever be exactly alike. Main source for the stone in Brazil.
Andean Opal:
Andean opal is a lovely bluegreen translucent opal found in the Andes mountains near San Patricio, Peru. Copper may be the essential trace element that causes its soft distinctive color. It has been used by native South Americans for more than a thousand years and is well known in the semi-precious stone trade.
Aquamarine:
Aquamarine is a blue-green stone that comes from Colombia and Brazil. It has been called "Water of the Sea", because of its color.
Azurite-Malachite:
Azurite is a soft stone, named for its deep “azure blue” color. It is a copper carbonate mineral found in the upper oxidized portions of copper ore formed in masses, nodules, tabular or prismatic crystals, sometimes with a vitreous luster. The saturated color ranges from bright to deep blue into shades of indigo, and may contain streaks of light blue.
Boulder Opal:
Also see Opal. It is an amorphous mineral (no crystal structures or other regularly grown forms) which is formed by a drying mineraloid gel which is slowly deposited at relatively low temperature under 100°C and may occur in the matrix of any kind of rock. Boulder Opal is found in Australia, where the Opal is the national stone. Beautiful veins with opalizing effects run through iron oxide mineral matrix and the slight surface polishing is the secret to produce gem quality pieces.
Bronzite:
Bronzite is a light to dark brown opaque form of enstatite that has a metallic or silky luster. It contains tiny flecks of golden pyrite, and this makes the stone look almost like bronze. Bronzite is mined in Brazil, Germany, Austria, South Africa, Greenland and USA.
Carnelian:
Carnelian (also sometimes referred to as cornelian) is found primarily in India, as well as various sites in South America. It is a variety of chalcedony. The most favorable pieces are a deep red to red-orange hue. Carnelian has a long and storied past, and was once considered strictly the property of the noble class.
Chalcedony:
Chalcedony is a variety of the mineral quartz that occurs in in a great variety of colors inlcuding blue, lavender, white, buff, light tan, gray, yellow, pink, red or brown. If chalcedony is conspicuously color-banded, it may be called agate and with other minerals it has various other names including carnelian, mocha stone, onyx, bloodstone to name a few.
Considered a sacred stone by the Native American Indians, chalcedony nurtures and promotes brotherhood and good will.
Chalcedony Rose:
From Rio Grande do Sul, Chalcedony Rosettes,aka Chalcedony Roses are given this name because of their natural rose like formations. Since Chalcedony often grows with other minerals,these specimens are an interesting mix of minerls ranging in color from whitish pink to gray with a slightly darker base.
Champagne Topaz:
One of the very few naturally colored varieties of topaz in a light to medium shade of brown, primarily found in Mexico.
Charoite:
Charoite is a rare and unique stone from the Charo River Valley in the former Soviet Union that exhibits swirling tones of lavender and purple with silver, white and black interlaced throughout. It is one of the most recogniziable stones in the mineral industry as very few are purple and none have the color and visual texture of Charoite
Chiastolite:
An Andalusite that shows an impressive cross on its polished cross section. The rhombic crystals are cut in slices and polished, which displays the dark cross profile on the brownish matrix best. As a Nordic rune stone and talisman the Chiastolith was already popular in ancient times. The name Cross Stone is also used but interferes with the Staurolite carrying the same common name.
Chrysocola:
Chrysocolla is attractive blue-green that provides a unique color to the mineral world and is well known in the semi-precious stone trade. Chyrsocolla is perhaps more appropriately a mineraloid than a true mineral. Most of the time it is amorphous meaning that it does not have a coherent crystalline structure. Chrysocolla forms in the oxidation zones of copper rich ore bodies.Chrysocolla often is "agatized" in chalcedony quartz and it is the quartz that provides the stone with its polish and durability. Druzy Chrysocolla is a rock composed of agatized chysocolla with a crust of small sparkling quartz crystals in small cavities
Chrysoprase:
Called the stone of Venus, chrysoprase is the rarest and most valuable rich apple-green gemstone in the chalcedony family and was often mistaken for emeralds by ancient jewelers. Unlike emeralds, which owe their color to the presence of chromium, the bright spring green of chrysoprase is a result of trace amounts of nickel.
Citrine:
Citrine is a yellow-to-golden member of the quartz mineral group. A deep golden variety from Madiera Spain can resemble the costly imperial topaz gem stone, which is one reason that citrine is a popular birthstone alternative to those born in November.
Citrine has been called the "stone of the mind".
Sources of citrine include Brazil, Bolivia, several African countries and parts of the Soviet Union.
Copper:
Copper is a reddish brown nonferrous mineral which has been used for thousands of years by many cultures. The metal is closely related with silver and gold, with many properties being shared among these metals. Especially the Indian tribes along the west coast of Canada and the US used Copper nuggets as jewelry and decorative items for rituals. Naturally tumbled nuggets of copper can be found in the streams and rivers of Canada`s western regions.
CUBIC ZIRCON :
Cubic zirconia (CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2). The synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. It should not be confused with zircon, which is a zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4). It is sometimes erroneously called "cubic zirconium".
Dendritic Quartz:
Clear Rock crystal (SiO2) with plant-like inclusions which resemble plants but are supposedly caused by Manganese crystallizations during the cooling process of the yet soft Quartz mineral. Dendrites are mined in India and Brazil.
Disthen:
Cyanite or Disthen forms long and deep intruding crystals of black or blue color in Schiefer. Its color and hardness depends not on different ingredients but on the pressure and temperature during its metamorphic evolution. Along the crystals the mineral is rather soft and fibrous when broken. As the Cyanite is resistant to fire, acid and climate it was used in thin layers as window glass in former centuries. As a gemstone for jewelry Cyanite has only recently been discovered and can be used as rough handpicked crystals or polished gems in deep blue colors.
Drusy:
The term "Druzy" refers to the tiny crystal which is formed within of on another stone in a large number. When the ground water that carries dissolved silica is forced to to get filled into a porous area of rock, rapid cooling occurs and it causes the formation of minute crystals. As in Druzy Chrysocolla, the rock is composed of agatized chysocolla with crusts of small sparkling quartz crystals in tiny cavities.
Fireagate:
A variety of chalcedony, Fire agate is a semi-precious natural gemstone found only in certain areas of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Approximately 24-36 million years ago these areas were subjected to massive volcanic activity during the Tertiary Period. The fire agates were formed during this period of volcanism when hot water, saturated with silica and iron oxide, repeatedly filled cracks and bubbles in the surrounding rock.
Fire Opal:
Fire opal is usually orange to red in color, . It is an amorphous mineral (no crystal structures or other regularly grown forms), formed by a drying mineraloid gel which is slowly deposited at relatively low temperature and may occur in the matrix of any kind of rock. Fireopal is mined in Mexico; oftentimes the natural opal is embedded in reconstructed matrix.
Fossil:
Fossils are mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. Fossilization is an exceptionally rare occurrence, because most components of formerly living beings tend to decompose quickly following death. In order for an organism to be fossilized, the remains normally need to be covered by sediment (or other materials like tree sap) as soon as possible. Mineral concentrations occurring during the fossilization define the consistency, hardness and the different colors of fossil findings. Ammonite, coral, trilobite, shark teeth, seashells, snails, wild horses fossil teeth, dinosaur bone and various fossilized woods are some of the fosils which we use in our collection.
Fluorite:
Fluorite (also called Fluorspar) is a mineral composed of Calcium and Fluoride. It grows in very symetrical crystals with a cubic habit and is famous for its color variety. As a gemstone used in jewelry it is beautiful in facetation and polished but very sensitive to pressure due to the low hardness. It exists almost worldwide and Fluorite is mainly mined as a source to produce Fluor.
Freshwater pearl:
Freshwater pearls are cultivated in mussels rather than oysters, and most of the world’s supply are farmed in the lakes, rivers and ponds of China, often along the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) river.
Golden Labradorite:
Yellow Labradorite is a member of the Feldspar family. Yellow Labradorite has also been called 'Golden Labradorite' and 'Sunstone Labradorite'.These tumblestones are a very pale yellow or lemon colour with the odd piece also displaying a light smokey grey colour. They are generally translucent to opaque and most have very interesting and intrigueing internal structures which range from different shaped fractures, rainbows, milky inclusions and a very light iridescence similar to that seen in moonstone. Yellow Labradorite contains microscopic inclusions of copper which gives it its iridescence.
Garnet:
Garnets are a related group of minerals. Members of this group include: almandine (red to violet red); spessartite (yellow, rose, or orange to reddish-brown); pyrope (deep red); grossular (white, yellow, yellow-green, brownish-red, orange or black); andradite (colorless, yellow-green, or brown to black). The most prized garnet is an emerald green variety called demantoid and is a member of the adradite group.
Hypersthen:
Beautiful silica-mineral, that reveals its beauty only by the right kind of polishing. Hypersthen is created in iron-und magnesia saturated volcanic surroundings, developing crystals as well as rough and chunky units. The scientific name derives from its attribute of being harder than its relative Bronzite, due to a higher iron percentage (hyper: above, stenos: strength).
Hematite:
Also called Bloodstone and long adored as a healing stone. This common iron ore mineral develops beautiful structures with crystals or sometimes grape shaped bulbous aggregates like the bubbled Hematite in grey, brown or black.
Herkimer Diamond:
Herkimer Diamond is a generic name for a double terminated quartz crystal discovered within exposed outcrops of dolostone in and around Herkimer County,New York and the Mohawk River Valley. Because the first discovery sites were in the village of Middleville and in the city of Little Falls, respectively, the crystal is also known as a Middleville Diamond or a Little Falls Diamond.
Hiddenite:
Hiddenite is a pale-to-emerald green variety of spodumene that is sometimes used as a gemstone.
Iolite:
Iolite or Watersaphire is the gem variety of the mineral Cordierit. The color of gem quality Cordierit varies from light to dark blue. This stone is famous for a color changing optical effect when the stone is watched from different angles.
Imperial Topaz:
Among the topaz stones, there are those of different color hues, even though the base of all topaz stones is the same: fluorinated aluminum silicate Al2SiO4 (F, ОН), Moh’s hardness 8. Most of them do not cost much, but there is one exception: imperial topaz, an exceptionally rare gem from Brazil. Orange topaz as it is was quite well known for a long time, but its re-appearance as “imperial” was the result of a well-thought public relations campaign. Such topaz stones are really unique.
Jasper:
Jasper is an opaque rock of virtually any color stemming from the mineral content of the original sediments or ash.
Jasper is derived from the Greek for "spotted stone". Jasper is usually considered a chalcedony, but put by scientists in a group by itself because of its grainy structure. The finely grained, dense jasper contains up to twenty percent foreign materials that determine its color, streak and appearance. Uniform jasper is rare. It usually is multicolored, striped spotted or flamed.
Some of the most treasured gems are those that show a picture that appears to be taken from nature, called "landscapes". Oregon's Biggs Jasper is now the most common source. Another specialty is bloodstone or blood jasper, also known as "heliotrope", a dark green chalcedony jasper with flecks of red.
Kunzite:
Named for the mineralogist and jeweler George Frederick Kunz who first catalogued it in 1902, Kunzite is the pink to violet variety of the silicate, Spodumene. It has a glassy transparency, and forms in flattened prismatic crystals with vertical striations. Kunzite forms naturally as colorless, pink, lilac, yellow and green crystals. The yellow-green to emerald variety is known as Hiddenite, or Green Kunzite.The colorless to light yellow variety is known as Triphane, or Spodumene. Genuine Kunzite is quite pale in color, with natural darker shades being higher in value.
Labradorite:
A type of translucent feldspar which displays strong iridescence when viewed from different angles, Finnish spectrolite exhibits vivid colors of bright aqua, golden yellow, peacock blue, reddish orange, greens and red.The name is derived from Labrador which is the main and original source of the Canadian variety of this feldspar stone. Labradorite is also found in India, Madagascar, Newfoundland and Russia.
Larimar:
A rare blue variety of Pectolite, Larimar is found only in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. It occurs as needle-like crystals, grown together in a solid mass and forms in cavities within basaltic lava. The copper substitution in Pectolite instead of calcium produces beautiful translucent shades of soft blues, white and turquoise marked with streaks and patterns of white, and may contain red or brown areas of oxidation or Hematite inclusions. The more intense the blue and contrast within the stone, the rarer and higher its value. Larimar is also known as the Dolphin Stone, Blue Pectolite, Atlantis Stone, and Stefilia's Stone. Originally discovered in 1916, it was named by the Dominican who re-discovered it in 1974, taking the first letters of his daughter's name, Larissa, and the Spanish word for the sea, mar, to create LarimarBecause of its unique locality and fascinating appearance the so called Atlantis Stone has become the shooting star of Gemstones over the last years.
Lepidolite:
Lepidolite is not technically a gemstone, but a very beautiful purplish type of mica. It is referred to by healers as the Peace Stone.Lepidolite is found in Colorado and other parts of the US, and in Brazil.
Malachite:
Malachite is always green, usually in banded tones varying from very dark green to a mellow green. Most malachite comes from Zaire, Chile and Australia.
Moldavite:
Moldavite is a member of the Tektite group of natural glasses formed from interplanetary collisions. From the Greek word tektos, meaning "molten," Tektites are glassy mixtures of silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide and other metal oxides with an amorphous crystal structure. Unlike other Tektites from around the world which are tar black or brownish-black, translucent Moldavite is a deep forest green and is the only variety suitable for cutting and faceting as a gem. This beautiful stone is rare, found only in Czechoslovakia, and is named for the area in which it is found, near the Moldau River (called the Vltava in Czech).One of its best assets is that it is a protective stone and especially if you are working on developing psychic abilities. Using this stone in meditation is very powerful.Change and spiritual healing are the common elements that this powerful natural crystal stimulates amongst most people.
Moonstone:
Moonstone belongs to the Feldspar group. The traditional mining countries are India and Sri Lanka, where the most precious pieces with blueish rainbow reflection are found. Stones in orange, grey and brown are also used in jewelry. Because of its low hardness, Moonstone is sensitive to pressure and friction but nevertheless one of the most popular gemstones in silver jewelry.
Opal:
Opal is a hydrous silicon dioxide (SiO2.nH2O). It is amorphous, without a crystalline structure, and without a definite chemical composition. Therefore it is a "mineraloid" rather than a "mineral".Opal is a very common material that is found throughout the world. Most of this opal is "common opal" or "potch" which has a milky or pearly luster known as "opalescence". However, rare specimens of opal produce brilliant color flashes when turned in the light. These color flashes are known as a "play of color". Opal specimens that exhibit a play of color are known as "precious opal." If the play of color is of high quality and large enough to cut the material can be used to produce valuable gemstones.
Although opal is found throughout the world, almost all of that opal is common opal of very little value. Most of the precious opal deposits that have been discovered are in Australia. The mines of Australia produce at least 90% of the world's precious opal. Famous mining areas in Australia include: Coober Pedy, Mintabie, Andamooka, Lightning Ridge, Yowah, Koroit, Jundah and Quilpie. Other countries that produce precious and fancy varieties of common opal include: United States, Mexico, Hungary, Indonesia, Brazil, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Ethiopia.
Pearl:
The birth of a pearl is truly a miraculous event.Unlike gemstones or precious metals that must be mined from the earth,pearls are grown by live oysters far below the surface of the sea. Gemstones must be cut and polished to bring out their beauty,but pearls need no such treatment to reveal their loveliness. they are born from oysters complete with a shimmering iridescence,lustre and soft inner glow unlike any other gem on earth. Cultured pearls share the same properties as natural pearls.Oysters form cultured pearls in an almost identical fashion.The only difference is that a person carefully implants the irritant in the oyster,rather than leaving it to chance.
Pietersite:
Pietersite is one of the Riebeckite family of silicified and asbestos stones.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. It was discovered by Sid Pieters, Windhoek , Namibia , and is truly lovely. The most common is the yellow variety known as Tiger-eye and the blue variety known as Hawkeye well as weathering.Pietersite has been said to contain the keys to the kingdom of heaven dispelling illusion and assisting one in the recognition of the beauty of the soul. It exhibits and energy conducive to the actualization of the loving characteristics of the brotherhood of humanity. It brings the potential of the individual to the perfection of the source of all being, stimulating dignified power and loving guidance. It promotes loyalty to the self and to the ultimate experience of life.
Prehnite:
Prehnite Gemstones are usually light green in color, with a whitish hue or yellowish tinge.Deep Green Gemstones are not common.Prehnite Gemstones often appear cloudy or velvety,and rarely fully transparent.They may also contain color zones of lighter and darker green.
Prehnite gemstones are natural and not heated or artificially enhanced.
Deep green gemstones are not common. Prehnite gemstones often appear cloudy or velvety, and rarely fully transparent. They may also contain colors zones of lighter and darker green.
Printsstone:
This outback mineral is also called Zebra stone and is found only in western parts of Australia, where the Printstone has always been valued as a talisman and sign of good fortune. The polished cabochon shows regular dots and zebra-like stripes in redish and brown colors on mostly lighter background. The red color is caused by Iron oxide inclusions, but the origin and genesis of the regular structure is not cleared.
Psilomelane:
This mineral is an opaque Manganese ore in black color and reveals beautiful silverish structures on the metallic surface when polished. It is used mainly for manganese production.
Pyrite:
This stone is also called Fools-gold and belongs to the sulfide family. Pyrite is actually disulfide of iron, and the metallic crystal grows in cubes, nodules, masses of tiny crystals, and can even be found as flat discs. Both earth and fire energies are captured within the pyrite stonery.
Quartz:
A hard white or colorless mineral consisting of silicon dioxide, found widely in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is often colored by impurities (as in amethyst, citrine, and cairngorm).The mineral occurs worldwide but only as clear crystal specimen or including rare mineral inclusions it is a valuable gemstone. The clearest and most interesting crystal structures come from Minas Gerais /Brasil, the worlds biggest producer of Quartz.
Rhodochrosite:
Rhodochrosite (sometimes spelled Rhodochrosite) is an elegant pink and white stone called the "stone of love and balance" as it balances and enhances love on all levels. It comes in shades of orange and pink and has stripes of various width in shades of white. It symbolizes openness, it awakens the all-embracing love that is not limited to one person.. Most of the gem quality Rhodochrosite supply for the jewelry market comes from Argentina, where Rhodochrosite deposited in stalactites as manganese-saturated soakage and rainwater steadily dropped from the cave ceilings.
Rock Crystal:
Rock Crystal is the name given to all clear colorless Quartz.
Rock Crystal is the name given to all clear colorless quartz. It is widely used as a popular ornamental stone and is also used as a
Rose Quartz:
Natural rose quartz is often a very pale pink. The stronger the pink color, the more valuable most consider it, though metaphysically the paler pinks are equally valuable. Rose Quartz has always been positively linked to matters of love, harmony and the heart.
Ruby:
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. The ruby is considered one of the four precious stones, together with the sapphire, the emerald, and the diamond.
Rutilated Quartz:
Rock crystal (SiO2) with inclusions of the mineral Rutile, which crystallized in multitude of fine needles during the formation of the Quartz. Because of its golden brown color and the optical effect of clear Quartz the Rutile-needles are often mistaken for Gold inclusions.
Seraphenite:
Seraphenite include a golden and a green variety of this Clinochlor found in Russia (Ural, Siberia). It was discovered in the middle of the 19th century and since then the mineral is used in jewelry and stone art despite its rather low hardness.
Smokey Quartz:
Brownish-smokey form of the mineral Quartz (SiO2). Genesis mostly caused by natural radioactivity close to the site. Large quantities of Smokey Quartz come from Brazil, often including minerals like chloride oder rutile. The best and most valued pieces are of good clarity and dark smokey color.
Staurolite:
Staurolite is a mineral that is commonly found in metamorphic rocks such as schist and gneiss. It forms when shale is strongly altered by regional metamorphism. It is often found in association with almandine garnet, muscovite and kyanite - minerals that form under similar temperature and pressure conditions. It is usually brown or black in color with a resinous to vitreous luster. It ranges from transparent to opaque in diaphaneity.
Sugilite:
Sugilite (also known as lavulite) is a relatively rare pink to purple cyclosilicate mineral . Sugilite crystallizes in the hexagonal system with prismatic crystals. The crystals are rarely found and the form is usually massive. Sugilite can come in either translucent to opaque. Usually the most interest lies in purple opaque crystals. The luster is usually waxy, but the color is extremely rich.
Swarovski Crystal:
Swarovski Crystals are not natural crystals found in caves, but are man-made gems manufactured in Austria.The Swarovski Silver Crystal line was created by a Swarovski craftsman who was able to capture a silvery shine in the facets of the lead glass crystals. Swarovski Silver Crystals are made using a combination of natural minerals and quartz sand. The crystals are then slowly cooled, which helps avoid stress and imperfections. Swarovski Silver Crystals have a spectral brilliance that gives them their unique silver color, giving the impression that they are made of real precious metal.
Topaz:
Topaz is a precious gemstone that is most often amber in color. When pure, this stone is colorless, but additions of minerals create the typical yellow hue. Degree of yellows can vary, some leaning toward brown while others are more greenish. The most desirable of the stones, however, is the Imperial Topaz, which is brown with peach undertones.Though now primarily mined in South America and Mexico, this gem was prized by ancient civilizations as well, and was available throughout Europe and Africa. However, most yellow stones, whether they were citrine or topaz, were called topazby the Ancient Greeks.
Trilobite:
Trilobites are extinct sea creatures that were one of the first forms of life on earth. The closest extant relative may be the Horseshoe Crab. Trilobites ruled the world before the time of the dinosaurs during the Palaeozoic Era (between 545 and 251 million years ago). To cast Trilobites in jewelry ; petrified Arthropod is cleaned with a sandblaster before the final cutting and polishing process.
Turquoise:
Natural turquoise, an aggregate of copper aluminum phosphate hydrate, formed under heat and pressure, is often soft or porous when mined. The various colors found in turquoise result from the presence of either copper or iron--vivid blue is from copper and the softer green tones from iron. Turquoise stones can also have patterns of brown, yellow ochre and black matrix, produced from copper compounds. True turquoise has an opaque, waxy luster that may or may not include matrix, depending on the type of turquoise. The most famous findings come from the midwest region of the US (e.g. the Kingman-Mine). China and Mexico also a large producers of gem quality Turquoise.
Tourmaline:
Tourmaline gemstone is a semi-precious mineral stone well known for its incredible ability to aid in the detoxification process of the human body. It is one of only a handful of minerals that have the ability to emit negative ions and far-infrared rays.
The word tourmaline takes its origins from the Singhalese phrase "tura mali," meaning "stone mixed with vibrant colors." From magenta to teal-blue, meadow-green to vibrant yellow, and even black, this powerfull healing stone is known to change its color in different forms of light. Some say that there are no two tourmalines with the exact same color, and for this reason it has been historically revered as a "magic" stone capable of protecting whoever wore it.
Important deposits of Tourmaline are in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and the United States (California and Maine). Several African countries have recently become big producers of gem Tourmaline, specifically Madagascar, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Malawi.
Zoisite:
Named after Freiherr von Zois in the 18th century, this Calzium-Aluminiumsilicat is a rather rare mineral. Interesting colors in gem quality offer Norwegian Thulit (pink-redish), Tanzanite (blue) and Anyolith (or Ruby-Zoisite). Crystallized Zoisite often shows horizontal stripes on the prismatic crystals, similar to rough Tourmaline. The mineral is found worldwide, Tanzanite only Tanzania, Thulit mainly from Norway.
Important:
Any implied published healing properties of stones are merely the expression of a personal opinion. They should not be misunderstood as medical information and should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-healing. For detailed information about healing qualities of stones contact your physician or therapist.