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.
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Journal
Field notes for understanding materials, comparing stones, choosing size, and caring for what you wear.
Published records
234 records
01
37
Dumortierite Quartz vs Rutilated Quartz: Blue and Gold Needles
Compare dumortierite quartz and rutilated quartz: their minerals, blue and gold needles, formation, patterns, care and appearance in jewellery.
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38
Is a Garnet Bracelet Worth It? What Decides the Price of a Red Strand
Bracelet garnet is almandine or pyrope, cut as matched round beads. Here is what decides the price of a red strand and how to read one at home.
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39
Kyanite vs Aquamarine vs Blue Needle Quartz: Three Blue Strands
Kyanite vs aquamarine vs blue needle quartz bracelets: where the blue sits, kyanite's two hardness values, how each wears, which to pick.
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40
Is a Moonstone Bracelet Worth It? What the Sheen Is Paying For
Moonstone's value sits in the blue-white sheen, the clarity of the body and the bead size. How to read a strand as one object, and what the Stone...
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41
Amethyst vs Clear Quartz: Is Amethyst Just Purple Quartz?
Amethyst is quartz with an iron colour centre; clear quartz is the same mineral without one. What that changes: fading, veils, 6 to 10 mm tone, treatments.
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42
Why Does My Crystal Look Different in Different Light?
Light source, angle, background and camera processing can change a crystal bracelet’s appearance. Learn how to compare colour and sheen under consistent conditions.
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43
Real vs Fake Kyanite: Dyed Howlite, Glass and Safe Checks
How to tell if kyanite is real: dyed howlite, blue glass and dumortierite quartz show on the bead. Why scratch tests fail and what a lab measures.
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44
Smoky Quartz Meaning and Properties: A Jewellery Guide
Smoky quartz is the grey to brown colour variety of quartz. The aluminium colour centres behind it, Mohs 7 hardness, and how it reads against obsidian.
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45
Is Fire Quartz Natural? Real vs Fake Hematoid Quartz Explained
Fire quartz is a trade name that overlaps with hematoid quartz: natural quartz coloured by iron oxides. Where the red sits in a bead separates untreated, heated and...
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46
Yellow Crystal Bracelets: Citrine, Rutilated or Obsidian?
Citrine, golden rutilated quartz and gold sheen obsidian read as gold for three different reasons. Hardness, light, wear and what to ask before buying.
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47
Real vs Fake Rutilated Quartz: Coatings, Glass and Safe Checks
Real vs fake rutilated quartz: natural rutile needles sit inside the quartz. How glass wires, coatings and composites show, and which checks are safe.
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48
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.
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