Crystal Guides
Deep, sourced guides to the minerals we collect and sell: history, geology, identification, myths vs. facts, and where to find them. Every guide cites its sources.
Herkimer Diamonds →
New York’s famous double-pointed quartz: history, the science of the 18 faces, a real-or-fake checker, a locality map, and where to dig.
Amethyst →
The purple quartz that was once a cardinal gem: color science, giant geodes, localities, and how to spot treated or synthetic stones.
Quartz →
Rock crystal to computer chips: the quartz family, record crystals, habits, fakes and coatings, and quartz in modern tech.
Calcite →
Caves, seashells, double refraction, and Viking sunstones, plus the truth about “onyx.”
Opal →
The gem that isn’t a crystal: play-of-color science, Australian vs. Ethiopian vs. Mexican opal, hydrophane, and treatments.
Tanzanite →
Found in 1967 in one patch of Tanzanian hills: the disputed discovery, trichroism, heat treatment, record finds, and imitations.
Petrified Wood →
How trees turn to stone (sometimes fast), the great fossil forests, identification, and US collecting laws.
Libyan Desert Glass →
29-million-year-old natural glass from Egypt’s sand sea, King Tut’s scarab, and the impact evidence.
Stilbite & Zeolites →
The “boiling stones”: bow-tie stilbite, how zeolites grow in lava, NJ, Nova Scotia, and India, plus a species cheat sheet.
How we write these guides
- Facts come from museums, geological surveys, gem labs, and published research, and every guide lists its sources.
- Where sources disagree, we say so and give both figures.
- We separate legend from history, and we make no healing or metaphysical claims.
- Guides link to real specimens in our shop, each labeled with its locality.