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One of the most common questions we get asked is what is the difference between the terms Crystal, Gem, Rock, Mineral, Stone and Ore, let us try (our best) to simplify things, as sometimes more than one term can be used to describe a particular “Stone”.

A good and fairly generic term is MINERAL…. after all, a mineral is something that has been MINED (hence the name).

Although it is fair to say that it does not apply to everything.

Some MINERALS are sedimentary ROCK that was laid down over millions (sometimes billions) of years, an example of ROCK would be Jaspers. ROCK is generally a mineral that may be considered to be a STONE.

CRYSTALS are MINERALS that formed in a CRYSTALLINE habit as a concentrated liquid dropped deposits of MINERAL rich water over millennia in the same place.

A MINERAL that is said to have a value, either due to scarceness or demand (like Diamond) can be said to be PRECIOUS and others, due to overwhelming popularity (amethyst) is said to be SEMI-PRECIOUS or a GEM STONE.

The term ORE is used to describe a MINERAL that contains a METAL in a metallic or non-metallic form. For example, Hematite is used to make Iron and subsequently Steel, where Malachite is used to extract Copper. Metallic ores usually have very strong colours.

The term TUMBLESTONE is an accurate description of how they are made. Crystals, rocks and ores can be tumble polished in large rotating drums with grit for up to a year!

Some minerals, like Calcite, react violently with acid and are dipped in acid for mere seconds to polish them, that is how calcites can have a rough shape with a very smooth and shiny surface.

Differences of opinion!

The information provided below may well be different from what you have read elsewhere, it is not to say that our information is wrong, completely correct or something else.

There are many crystal books and sites with information out there, we have compiled our information using lots of different trains of thought, using a mixture of intellect and intuition as well as decades of experience and a good measure of psychometry too! (Psychometry is the ability to communicate with inanimate objects).

We have spoken to many of our suppliers over the years, most of which are geologists and people within the scientific community, many of which have little interest in the esoteric. They have been fascinated by how the geology of each mineral can heavily influence the meaning it can have.

For example, Brecciated Jasper was once formed as regular jasper, it became brecciated (crushed up and broken) in earthquakes or some king of geological trauma and was then reformed into another type of jasper, this to us signifies the importance of accepting what others see as our greatest flaws, our imperfections. But in reality, it is the most resilient part of our personality that survives, it can signify personal strength, a person that can be seen as defiant, pacing forward against all odds and a person that yearns to be themself.

Danny has been using crystals for divination and readings for more than 20 years, it is interesting how the combination of crystals can tell a story, how to seemingly unrelated crystals can come together to say something.

Beware of fakes!

Please note, we do not sell man made stones or those that have been unduly dyed or altered… so you won’t find goldstone, opalite or aura quartz on this list!

However, most commercially available Smokey Quartz and Citrine have been Irradiated (exposed to radiation, usually microwaves) or Heat Treated (quite literally, amethyst is placed in a large oven and slowly heated and cooled over a period of time) for it to change to Citrine. Natural citrine is not as bright orange as its “Baked” cousin and is also much more expensive.

Sometimes minerals are dyed to make them look more appealing, most commonly Turquenite or Howlite are dyed various shades of blue, turquoise and green. We sometimes get the odd piece in a bad of natural, which we keep to one side in case anyone asks for it.

We have also seen some shops selling totally fake minerals, such as Malachite, Lapis and Chrysocolla, these are relatively expensive, so dyed stones or even man made resin is being sold in their place. Needless to say, a fake stone is not going to do anyone any good!

Not all listed are sold, our stock levels and availability change all the time. We will try to mark those we do not have with a *

Mineral Families

Agates
The agate family also include Chalcedony & Onyx are found in many countries worldwide. They can often be identified by their beautiful banding. Agates are quite often dyed as they often naturally have grey and brown hues. Chalcedony and Onyx are almost always naturally colourful, including well known Carnelian, which used to be called Sard.

Agates are in the Quartz (silicate) family.

Felspars
The feldspar family includes some of the most well known minerals including Amazonite (pronounced a-maz-onite), Moonstone & Sepheranite.

Fossil
There are lots of fossils that are used as gemstones, including fossil wood and coral. Infact, we stock Turitella Agate, which is an agate filled with tiny fossils.

Did you know that Jet is the fossilised remains on a pre-historic forest of Monkeypuzzle trees? Technically they are the compressed, carbonised remains (anthracite) but people use the term fosillised.

Metallic Ores
Although ore is not a defined family of minerals, it is worthy of mention as almost all associated metallic minerals are beautiful, from Peacock Ore to Pyrite and everything in between.

Quartz
The quartz family is probably the most well known, it is also the largest group of minerals. Quartz belongs to a family that is correctly called Silicates.

Members of the quartz family include Amethyst, Citrine, Smokey & Rose Quartz.

Volcanic Quartz
The silicate family also includes a subsection that contains Apache Tear and Obsidian. Both of which started out as a variety of quartz that was heated and made molten by a volcano. When cooled, a new mineral was formed.

A to Z

Please use the search box to find something specific.

Name	Meaning	Chakra	Zodiac	Notes
Agate, Botzwana, Grey	Stability, Take your time, Take small steps	Root
Agate, Botzwana, Pink	Calm down! Keep your cool.	Heart
Agate, Coyaminto, Crazy Lace	See things clearly, Remove Illusion, Peace	Root
Agate, Moss, Pink	Aura Protecting, Follow your instinct.	Heart
Agate, Turritella	Helps in times of Change	Root
Agate, Zebrastone	Calming, Blend in or Stand Out!	Root / Heart
Amazonite	Balancing, Hope, Go with the flow	Heart / Throat
Amethyst, Banded / Chevron	Calming, Peace, Balance, Creativity	Brow
Amethyst, Dark, Uruguayan	Deep peace, Meditative State	Crown
Amethyst, Green, Prasiolite	Love, Calming, Peace, Balance	Heart / Crown		Prasiolite is sometimes called Amegreen
Ametrine	Find the balance, Inner peace	Sacral / Brow
Angelite	Connection with angelic realms, Communication, Truth	Throat
Apache Tears	Dispeller of negativity, Protection	Root
Apatite	Don’t be fooled! Aura Strengthening	Heart / Throat
Aquamarine	Banishes Phobias, Settle down, think before you speak	Root / Heart / Throat
Aragonite	Grounding, Respect for Nature	Sacral / Solar Plexus
Aventurine, Green	Leadership, Creativity, Love	Heart
Aventurine, Peach	Lead by example, Trust	Sacral
Aventurine, Ruby Red	Lead by following your instinct	Root / Sacral
Bloodstone	Inner Guidance, Intuition	Root / Heart
Bronzite	Stability, Personal Space, Growth	Root / Sacral / Solar Plexus
Calcite, Honey	Stability, Ability to attract the right people	Sacral / Solar Plexus
Calcite, Mangano	Sensitivity, Listen to your heart	Heart
Calcite, Orange	Studying, Mental Attitude, Concentration, Teaching	Sacral
Carnelian	Concentration, Studying, Balancing	Root / Sacral
Chalcedony, Blue (Blue Carnelian)	Stabitlity, Speak from the heart, Truth	Heart
Charoite	Positive thinking, Put others First	Crown
Chrysocolla	Speak from the heart. Listen to your heart.	Heart / Throat
Chythia (Serpentenite)	Harmony, Balance between heart and impulse, Love	Root / Heart		Mineral containing Nephrite Jade and Serpentine
Citrine	Self-Esteem, Overcome Fear	Sacral / Solar Plexus
Dumortierite	Reality, Understanding	Throat
Epidote	Healing, Work with conviction.	Heart
Fluorite	Strength & Conviction, Purpose	All
Fossilised Coral	Trust in yourself, Timeless, Trust, Respect	Root
Fossilised Wood	Financial Security, Prosperity	Root
Fuschite	Don't give up, Determination, Keep the faith	Heart / Throat
Garnet, Orange	Luck, Opportunity, Chance	Solar Plexus
Garnet, Red	Helps fight trauma, Opportunity	Root
Hematite	Grounding, Stress Relief, Will Power	Root
Howlite	See things for what they truly are, Face Value	All
Jadeite, aka Jade	Remove illusion, Clarity, Hearts desire	Heart
Jasper, Brecciated	Second Chances, Luck, Help in times of change	Root / All
Jasper, Kambaba	Protection, Keep the faith, Self-love	Root / Heart
Jasper, Leopardskin	Impulsiveness, Ability to overcome, Take it in your stride	Root
Jasper, Picture	Look within, see things as they are, Speak with love	Root, Solar Plexus
Jasper, Red	Impulsiveness, Take a moment to gather your thoughts	Root
Jasper, Yellow	Go with your feelings, Stability	Solar Plexus
Jet	Follow your instinct, Trust your ability	Root
Kyanite	Energising, “Personal Magic!” Follow your dreams	Throat
Labradorite	Protects Aura, Spirituality, Understanding	Throat / Brow / Crown
Lapis Lazuli	Communication, Listening, Truth, Wisdom	Throat
Lepidolite	Aura Cleansing, Clear thinking	Brow / Crown
Magnesite, Ivory	Overthinking, Decisiveness	All
Malachite	Transformation, Matters of love and the heart	Heart
Moldavite	Letting go, Moving On, Inner Vision	* See Note
Mookite	Stability, Acceptance, Be yourself	Depends on colour
Moonstone	Balances Emotions, Uplifting	Heart / All
Moonstone, Rainbow	See things from new perspective, Dreams	Heart / All
Morganite	Appreciation, Don't take things for granted	Heart
Nephrite, aka Jade	Follow the heart, Soothes impulsiveness	Heart
Obsidian, Black	Protection, Creativity, Dispels Negativity	Root
Obsidian, Mahogany	Success, Stability, Slowly does it	Root
Obsidian, Snowflake	Protection, Purity, Dispels Negativity	Root
Onyx, White	Think clearly before making a decision	All
Opal, Green	Love, Intuition, Listen to your heart.	Heart
Opal, Pink	Listen to your heart, Grounds the heart chakra	Heart
Pietersite, Golden	See the bigger picture, Be true to yourself	Root / Solar Plexus
Prehnite	True love, self-esteem, Self-love	Heart
Pyrite	Keep focus and perspective, Get the job done!	Root
Quartz, Clear	Healing, Balance, Harmony	All
Quartz, Milky/White	Healing, Balance, Harmony, Clear the way, Tread Carefully	All
Quartz, Rose	Unconditional Love, Calm, Focus	Heart
Quartz, Rutilated	Work with angels, Keep Focus, Concentration	All
Quartz, Smokey	Focus on now, Personal Drive, Grounding, Calm down	Root
Quartz, Strawberry	Balance, Harmony, Dare to be different	Heart
Quartz, with Tourmaline	Brings grounding to other chakras, Balance, Perspective	Root / All
Ruby-Zoisite	Impulsiveness, Desire, Self-love, Clarity, Stability	Root / Heart
Sardonyx	Balancing, Uplifting, Be different	Root / Heart
Selenite	Cleansing, Purification, Strong Foundations & Fresh Starts	All
Serpentine, Peruvian	Balancing the heart, Harmony	Heart
Shattuckite	"It's not what you say, it's the way that you say it!"	Heart / Throat
Shiva Lingham	Focus on the little things in life, Harmony	All
Sodalite	Calms the Mind, Communication	Throat
Sugalite	Activator, Overcome Psychic Attacks	Crown
Tektite	Think Big, Overcome, Put others first, “Far Out!”	* See Note
Tiger Iron	Stability, Trust in yourself. Grounding	Root
Tiger’s Eye, Green	Confidence in matters of the heart	Root / Heart
Tiger's Eye, Blue	Confidence in what you say, Communication	Root / Throat
Tiger's Eye, Gold	Courage, Confidence in what you do	Root / Solar Plexus
Tiger's Eye, Red	Courage, Trust your instincts.	Root
Tourmaline, Black	Understanding, Protection	Root
Unakite	Togetherness, Understanding	Heart
Zoisite	Stability, Trust your heart	Root		Zoisite often contains flecks of ruby, Ruby-Zoisite is listed seperately
Not all shown are stocked

* Moldavite & Tektite are not recommended for chakra balancing. They contain extra-terrestrial energy that can make some people disorientated or feel unwell. It is true that some people work with well with them. We have had experience of how these are not suitable for use on any chakra.