01
BE. Stone Buying Checklist
How to read a crystal bracelet before you buy it: ten checks, in order, with the reasoning behind each. A4 PDF included.
Read the checklist →Journal · Field notes
Journal
Field notes for understanding materials, comparing stones, choosing size, and caring for what you wear.
Published records
91 records
01
01
Prehnite vs Jade vs Peridot: Three Pale Greens Told Apart
Prehnite, jade and peridot share a pale green. A loupe gives clues: cloudy glow, compact grain or doubled edges. Toughness, treatments, safe screening.
Read field note →
02
Real vs Fake Moonstone: How to Tell if Moonstone Is Real
Moonstone is feldspar with a glow that moves as the bead turns. Screen opalite, resin, chalcedony and coated stones at home; know when a lab matters.
Read field note →
03
Hematoid Quartz vs Garnet: Two Reds from Two Different Causes
Hematoid quartz is quartz with iron-oxide particles inside; garnet is red through its own chemistry. Hardness, weight, light, fakes and matching, compared.
Read field note →
04
Brown Crystals: Names, Materials and Visual Clues
Brown describes an appearance, not one material. Compare Smoky Quartz, Tiger's-eye, Dravite, Hessonite, Jasper, Obsidian and Amber by structure, light behaviour, wear limits and evidence.
Read field note →
05
Apache Tears: Obsidian Nodules in Perlite Explained
A geology-first guide to Apache Tears, replacing the ejected-droplet shortcut with documented remnant obsidian cores in hydrated perlitic settings.
Read field note →
06
Fire Obsidian: Nanolayers, Iridescence & Cutting
A source-backed guide to fire obsidian, linking Glass Buttes magnetite-rich nanolayers to thin-film iridescence while separating it from rainbow trade language.
Read field note →
07
Real vs Fake Clear Quartz: Glass, Synthetic Quartz and Safe Checks
A two-stage guide: first ask whether the clear material is quartz rather than glass or plastic; then whether that quartz is natural or hydrothermal synthetic, and when only...
Read field note →
08
Real vs Fake Garnet: How to Check Without Damaging the Stone
A material-first guide to screening garnet without damage: what colour, bubbles, UV and magnet response can suggest, where each clue fails, and how a gem laboratory confirms identity.
Read field note →
09
Real vs Fake Obsidian: Natural Glass vs Manufactured Glass
Obsidian is natural volcanic glass, so manufactured black glass can share its shine, fracture, bubbles and feel. This evidence ladder separates useful screening clues from claims that need...
Read field note →
10
White & Clear Crystals: Names, Materials and Visual Clues
White and clear describe appearance, not identity. A material-first map of Quartz, Moonstone, Chalcedony, Calcite and Gypsum—what light reveals, what it cannot prove, and which materials are more...
Read field note →
11
Yellow & Gold Crystals: A Material-First Naming Guide
A material-first map of yellow and gold gem names, separating body colour, rutile inclusions, metallic minerals, organic amber and manufactured glass without confusing gold-toned appearance with elemental gold.
Read field note →
12
Silver Sheen Obsidian: Optical Structure & Quality
A material-first guide to silver sheen obsidian, separating the visible silver reflection from specimen-specific internal structures, source claims and quality.
Read field note →