The Complete Gemstone Guide
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Our workshop works with around fifteen natural stones, each chosen for what it actually is: its geological formation, its documented history of use, and what modern lithotherapy attributes to it. This guide brings all our stones together in one place, those that already have their own article, and those presented here for the first time.
Red Jasper: Quiet Endurance
Jasper is a variety of chalcedony, a microcrystalline quartz, opaque unlike its cousin agate, colored red by iron oxide inclusions. It served as a seal stone in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, carved into cylinder seals and amulets. Unlike obsidian or black tourmaline, more abrupt in their grounding function, red jasper is traditionally associated with endurance and vitality, a background stone rather than a crisis stone. Discover our Red Jasper Harmony Stone.
Rhodonite: Heart Balance
Rhodonite is a manganese inosilicate, its name from the Greek rhodon (rose), for its pink and red color veined with black manganese oxide. Discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in the late 18th century, it became a prized material in Russian imperial stonework, alongside malachite. It is traditionally associated with emotional balance and compassion, the archetypal heart stone. Discover our Rhodonite Palm Stone.
Colorful Tourmaline: Joy in Spectrum
Colorful tourmaline belongs to the same boron cyclosilicate family as the black tourmaline covered in our Protection Stones guide, but in its elbaite variety, capable of carrying multiple colors within a single crystal, the famous “watermelon tourmaline,” green outside and pink at the core. These colors come from trace lithium, manganese, and iron. Unlike its black cousin, oriented toward grounding, colorful tourmaline is associated with joy and energetic balance. Discover our Colorful Tourmaline Mala Bracelet.
Aventurine: The Stone of Opportunity
Aventurine is a quartz variety containing flat mineral inclusions, most often fuchsite, that create a sparkle called aventurescence. Its name comes from the Italian a ventura, “by chance,” referencing the accidental 18th-century Murano discovery of the sparkling glass called goldstone (below), a name later reapplied to the natural quartz that produces a similar effect. It is traditionally called the stone of luck and opportunity, associated with abundance and growth. Discover our Green Aventurine Mala Necklace.
Fluorite: Mental Clarity
Fluorite is calcium fluoride, the mineral that gave its name to the phenomenon of fluorescence, described in the 19th century after specimens of fluorite were observed glowing under ultraviolet light. It forms in a wide range of colors, often banded within a single crystal, and is softer than quartz. It is traditionally associated with focus and mental clarity, sometimes called the “genius stone” in modern lithotherapy. Discover our Natural Fluorite Mala Necklace.
Lava Stone: Volcanic Strength
Lava stone is actually basalt, a volcanic rock rather than a crystal in the strict mineralogical sense, formed by lava cooling too quickly to leave anything but a porous texture. That porosity makes it a natural carrier for essential oil, diffused straight from the bracelet. Its volcanic origin links it directly to the obsidian covered in our Protection Stones guide, both are born of the same lava, but follow opposite paths, one becomes smooth glass, the other a rough, porous rock. It is traditionally associated with strength and stability, the earthbound counterpart to the grounding obsidian offers in glass form. Discover our Raw Lava Stone Mala Bracelet.
Rose Quartz: The Heart Stone
Rose quartz is macrocrystalline quartz colored pink by trace titanium, manganese, or iron, historically sourced from Brazil, Madagascar, and South Dakota. Mesopotamian and Egyptian archaeological sites have yielded rose quartz jewelry dated as far back as 7000 BCE. It is universally associated, across lithotherapy traditions, with love and compassion, the archetypal heart stone, softer than the harder protection stones covered elsewhere in this guide. Discover our Rose Quartz Comfort Stone.
Goldstone: The Glass, Named Honestly
Goldstone is not a natural mineral but a handmade glass containing dispersed copper crystals that create its signature sparkle. It was developed in Murano, near Venice, likely in the 17th century. Its Italian name, avventurina, shares a root with the aventurine described above, the visual effect of the two materials is that similar. Our blue version is a modern cobalt-glass variant of the same technique. We carry it for its shine and its genuine, centuries-old glassmaking history, never presented as a natural stone. Discover our Blue Goldstone Mala Bracelet.
The Rest of Our Collection
Several stones already have a dedicated blog article: Jade (nephrite and jadeite), Amethyst, Agate, Moonstone (French only for now), and Sodalite (French only for now). For protection-focused stones, obsidian, black tourmaline, tiger’s eye, black agate, labradorite, turquoise, and malachite, see our Protection Stones Guide. Sunstone has no dedicated article yet, it currently exists only paired with moonstone in a single necklace, a standalone piece will follow if the range grows.
