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
Field notes for understanding materials, comparing stones, choosing size, and caring for what you wear.
01
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 →
93
An honest comparison of natural citrine and heated amethyst citrine — both are quartz, both are natural in mineralogical sense, and what the labels actually mean.
Read field note →
94
A geology-first guide to rose quartz — what gives quartz its pink colour, why some pieces show asterism, where the best material forms, and how to read a...
Read field note →
95
A geology-first guide to prehnite: calcium-aluminium silicate formation, why some pieces show dark needles, top deposits and how to read a strand.
Read field note →
96
Green phantom quartz keeps earlier growth surfaces as visible internal layers. Learn how chlorite phantoms form and how to choose readable green phantom jewellery.
Read field note →
97
A geology-first guide to clear quartz — its lattice, why some specimens are flawless and others milky, where the best material forms, and how to read a strand.
Read field note →
98
Rutilated quartz contains rutile needles inside quartz. A material-first note on titanium dioxide inclusions, density, readability and BE. golden rutile jewellery.
Read field note →
99
The garnet family, its colours and documented localities, with a short film and a guide to observing a finished strand.
Read field note →
00
Amethyst is violet quartz formed through trace iron, natural radiation and time. A geology-first note on colour centres, care, safety and amethyst jewellery.
Read field note →
01
Aquamarine is blue because trace iron behaves differently inside beryl. A material-first note on Fe2+, beryl, heat treatment and choosing blue crystal jewellery.
Read field note →
02
Obsidian is volcanic glass: a material formed without a lattice, made sharp by fracture and, in gold sheen obsidian, lit by oriented structures inside the glass.
Read field note →
03
A geology-first comparison of gold sheen and black obsidian — what creates the metallic shimmer, how the volcanic glass differs, and which to choose.
Read field note →
04
The chemistry of crystal colour — Cr / Fe / Mn / Cu / V trace elements and how each shifts mineral hue across the gem spectrum.
Read field note →