Stone, structure, and the way a piece is chosen.
Field notes for understanding BE. materials, comparing stones, choosing size, and caring for what you wear.
Rutilated quartz contains rutile needles inside quartz. A material-first note on titanium dioxide inclusions, density, readability and BE. golden rutile jewellery.
A geology-first guide to garnet — the garnet group of minerals, why colour varies from red to green, top deposits and how to read a strand.
Amethyst is violet quartz formed through trace iron, natural radiation and time. A geology-first note on colour centres, care, safety and amethyst jewellery.
Aquamarine is blue because trace iron behaves differently inside beryl. A material-first note on Fe2+, beryl, heat treatment and choosing blue crystal jewellery.
Obsidian is volcanic glass, not crystal: a material formed without a lattice, made sharp by fracture and luminous through microscopic gas bubbles in gold sheen obsidian.
A geology-first comparison of gold sheen and black obsidian — what creates the metallic shimmer, how the volcanic glass differs, and which to choose.
The chemistry of crystal colour — Fe / Mn / Cr / Cu / Ti trace elements and how each shifts mineral hue across the gem spectrum.
Prehnite is a calcium aluminium silicate associated with low-temperature hydrothermal and metamorphic settings. A BE. note on colour, quality, care and jewellery.
A starter guide to crystal jewellery — three materials worth starting with based on visual range, value and durability, not metaphysical claims.
A material-first reading of stones culturally associated with abundance — citrine, pyrite, jade, golden rutile — and what their colour, chemistry and history actually mean.
A practical guide to spotting fake or imitation crystals — glass, resin composites, dyed material, lab-grown vs natural, and what to look for.
A geology-first guide to obsidian — volcanic glass formation, surface behaviour, conchoidal fracture, and why it has been culturally valued.