Picture Identification Guide for Polished Stones and Tumbled Rocks Provided by Amazonite Coral, Agatized Lepidolite Red Jasper Amazonite is a green microcline feldspar. It is A rare find is fossil coral that has been replaced by Lepidolite is a variety of mica that occurs in a Jasper is an opaque chalcedony and red is one of its named after the Amazon River of South America, agate - or agatized. This type of fossilization often spectrum of colors that range from pink to deep most common colors. This red jasper from South where the first commercial deposits were found. preserves the structure of the coral individual or lavender. The stones shown here are tumbled Africa has a fire-engine red color that in some The stones shown here are a rich green Amazonite colony. The result can be a beautiful stone that can quartz pebbles that have enough lepidolite stones is interrupted by a white to transparent quartz that was mined in Russia. be polished to display cross and lateral sections inclusions to yield pink and lavender gemstones. vein. It often accepts an exceptionally high polish. through the coral fossil. Apache Tears Crackle Quartz Lilac Amethyst Rhodonite - Pink Apache Tears are round nodules of obsidian that "Crackle Quartz" is a name used for quartz Amethyst is a purple variety of crystalline quartz that Rhodonite is a metamorphic manganese mineral can be transparent through translucent. When it has polish to a beautiful jet black color. If you hold them specimens that have been heat treated and then that is well known for its beautiful pink color. It is dyed to change their color. The heat treatment a soft purple color it is often called "lilac amethyst". up to the light you will see that they are a translucent often found as nodules that are cut by abundant produces fractures in the stone that facilitate the The stones shown here were produced from material to transparent glass. These polished Apache Tears black veins of other manganese minerals. The penetration of dyes. mined in South Africa. were produced from a material found in Arizona material used to produce these stones was mined (USA). in Canada. Apricot Agate Dalmatian Stone Lodestone Rhodonite - Raspberry Apricot Agate is a banded agate that is named for its Dalmatian Stone is white to gray jasper with black Lodestone has amazed people for thousands of Raspberry rhodonite is a bright pink variety of the apricot pink or orange color. It is a beautiful material spots. It is given that name because white years because it is a natural magnet. When manganese mineral, rhodonite. It is a metamorphic specimens have a color pattern similar to a with bands of whites, creams, yellows, oranges and suspended on a string, it will orient itself with Earth's mineral with a gemmy pink color that is often Dalmatian dog. Dalmatian Stone is often dyed a pinks. The stones shown here were produced from magnetic field. It has a silver metallic luster and is a interrupted by veins of black manganese oxide. The variety of colors. agate mined in Botswana (Africa). variety of the iron ore magnetite. These specimens specimens shown here were found in Madagascar. were found in the United States. Banded Amethyst Dumortierite Malachite Rose Quartz Amethyst is the name given to transparent to Dumortierite is a bright blue, dark blue or Malachite is a green copper carbonate mineral. It Rose quartz is a transparent to translucent variety translucent purple quartz. It often forms in greenish-blue mineral that is occasionally found in often displays swirled and banded patterns in of crystalline quartz with a soft pink color. It takes alternating bands with white to clear quartz. The metamorphic rocks. It can be polished to a high shades of light through dark green. It is a very heavy a very high polish and is an exceptionally popular resulting material is called Banded Amethyst or sometimes Chevron Amethyst. The Banded luster and is one of just a few blue minerals that are material because of its high copper content. These semiprecious stone. The material used to produce Amethyst used to produce these stones was mined hard enough to be used as a gemstone. The stones stones were produced from malachite mined in Zaire these stones was mined in Namibia (Africa). in Namibia (Africa). shown here were produced from material mined in (Africa). Mozambique (Africa). Banded Carnelian Dyed Agate Montana Moss Agate Ruby in Zoisite Carnelian is a translucent orange to red or brown Agate is a variety of chalcedony that can be Montana Moss is a transparent to translucent agate Zoisite is a mineral that is rarely found in agate. It often forms in alternating bands with white extremely colorful but usually is not. It is slightly with brown and black mossy inclusions. The base metamorphic rocks. Even more rarely it contains chalcedony. The result is known as Banded porous, with some bands and zones being more color ranges from clear through milky to amber bright red corundum crystals (rubies). This bright Carnelian. These stones were produced from an porous than others. When heat treated and exposed orange to pink material mined in Botswana (Africa). to dye, the porous zones absorb more dye than the brown. It is named after the State of Montana where green zoisite mined in Tanzania (Africa) contains less porous, producing a stone that is banded with it is found at many locations and is a popular rough occasional red rubies a few millimeters in diameter. various color intensities. with lapidaries. Bloodstone Eye Agate Mookaite Snowflake Obsidian Bloodstone, also known as heliotrope, is a green "Eye agates" are rare agate specimens that have Mookaite is silicified radiolarian siltstone that is Obsidian is a natural volcanic glass that can be jasper splashed with small drops of red. The red perfectly circular markings or "eyes". These are found in Western Australia. Many specimens of polished to a very high luster. Some stones of actually three-dimensional features that extend into Mookaite can accept a very high polish. It is widely drops remind many people of blood and that is the obsidian contain white crystals of the mineral the stone in the shape of a hemisphere. Sometimes known for its spectacular contrasting color patterns source of the name Bloodstone. It has been a cristobalite. When polished these stones produce they have concentric or "bull's eye" color zones. of yellows, creams, reds and maroons. popular stone since Biblical times. The Bloodstone Lake Superior and Botswana agates frequently a gemstone known as snowflake obsidian. shown here was produced from material mined in display eyes. India. Blue Chalcedony Fluorite Ocean Jasper Sodalite There are very few blue gemstones. Occasionally Fluorite occurs in a variety of colors that frequently Ocean Jasper, sometimes called "orbicular jasper," Blue rocks and minerals are rare and that is what the variety of quartz known as chalcedony occurs in includes purple, green, yellow, blue and clear, that is a silicified rhyolite or tuff that contains "eyes" makes sodalite an interesting mineral. It is an a blue color, such as this blue material mined in are often banded. Although it is beautiful it is not formed from radial quartz and feldspar crystals. It igneous mineral named for its sodium content. It Namibia (Africa). especially well suited for use in jewelry and certain occurs in a variety of colors, but green, yellow, typically occurs in a range of blue hues but white crafts because it has a hardness of four and has white, pink and cream color patterns are very and pink colors are also common. perfect cleavage in four directions. common. The stones shown here were produced from material mined in Madagascar. Blue Lace Agate Granite Orange Quartz Sunstone Blue Lace Agate is the name given to a chalcedony Granite is an intrusive igneous rock that is composed Quartz naturally occurs in almost every color of the Sunstone is a plagioclase feldspar that contains that consists of alternating bands of white agate and of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of micas, subtle blue to transparent agate. The result is a lacy amphiboles and other minerals. It can be pink, white spectrum. These colors are caused by impurities in abundant inclusions of platy minerals such as appearance that looks like blue lace. The Blue Lace or gray in color. Although the minerals in granite have the quartz crystal. This gemmy orange quartz in a mica or metals that sparkle in reflected light. This Agate shown here was produced from material found various hardness, it can easily be tumbled into beautiful "peach" color was produced from a mine in sparkling luster is known as aventurescence. These in Namibia (Africa). attractive stones. India. specimens of sunstone were mined in India. Botswana Agate Green Aventurine Petrified Wood Tigers Eye - Blue Botswana Agate is a name given to a banded agate Aventurine is a translucent quartz that contains in- Petrified wood forms when plant debris is buried and Tigers Eye receives its name from how reflected found in Botswana (Africa). This agate typically has wonderful white, gray and brown banding - sometimes clusions of platy minerals such as muscovite mica, then replaced by mineral material such as light forms a band that crosses the stone at a right with "eyes" - and takes a very high polish. hematite or goethite. The inclusions interact with chalcedony or opal. This often occurs when a forest angle to linear structures within the stone. Although light entering the stone to produce a glistening is buried under a volcanic ash fall. When polished the most popular Tigers Eye is golden to brown in known as "aventurescence." These light green these pieces of wood often display interesting grain color, it also occurs in other colors such as this deep stones were produced from material found in patterns that can sometimes be linked to a specific blue material found in South Africa.