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
186 records
01
13
Iron-Stained vs Iron-Included Quartz
A careful field guide to locating red-brown colour in quartz: exterior deposit, surface-connected fracture material or an apparently enclosed feature—without turning visual clues into laboratory identification.
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14
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...
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15
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.
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16
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...
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17
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...
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18
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.
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19
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.
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20
Pink Crystals: A Material-First Naming Guide
A material-first map of pink gem names, from quartz, beryl and spodumene to corundum, tourmaline, patterned minerals, dyed chalcedony, glass and synthetics, with visual clues kept separate from...
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21
Purple Crystals: A Material-First Naming Guide
A material-first guide to purple gem names, separating amethyst, sapphire, spinel, iolite, tanzanite, other minerals, mica-rich material, glass and synthetics without treating colour as identification.
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22
Black Crystals: A Material-First Naming Guide
A material-first map of black gem names, separating minerals, chalcedony, natural glass, organic material and manufactured glass while keeping visual observations as screening clues rather than identification.
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23
Rainbow Obsidian: Iridescent Bands, Structure & Quality
A source-backed reading of rainbow obsidian, from studied Mexican microcrystal arrays and iridescent bands to orientation, lookalikes and quality limits.
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24
Blue Crystals: A Material-First Naming Guide
A visual navigation hub for blue material names, separating mineral species, varieties, rocks, archive labels and manufactured glass before routing each question to its owner guide.
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