BE. · Interactive material archive

Stone Explorer.

Twelve materials are catalogued here. Garnet, Amethyst and Obsidian are open; the remaining files are still being written.

12 records · 3 open

OpenEnter →GarnetGarnet group · six member filesCompare · Formation · Evidence Almandine garnet reference specimenGarnetEnter the file → OpenEnter →ObsidianSilica-rich volcanic glass · seven appearance filesCompare · Formation · Evidence Golden-sheen obsidian reference specimen (Mexico). Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsObsidianEnter the file → OpenEnter →AmethystQuartz · five natural appearance filesCompare · Formation · Evidence Purple amethyst crystal specimen from Magaliesburg, South AfricaAmethystEnter the file →

No archive record matches this search.

Reading boundary

An image can open a question. It cannot close the case.

Four things get confused with one another: what you can see, what a supplier wrote down, what mineralogy says in general, and what a laboratory actually measured. This archive keeps them apart. Its diagrams explain how processes work; none of them establishes where a BE. bead came from.

File status · not written yet

Stone name

Catalogued, but not written yet. The sources have to be read and checked before this one opens.

Read the Codex entry →

Questions about Stone Explorer

Which Stone Explorer files can I open?

Garnet, Amethyst and Obsidian are open. The remaining files are still being written.

What can I do in an open Stone Explorer file?

Compare two records side by side, follow a formation model and read the supporting evidence.

What does the archive distinguish?

The archive separates visible features, supplier records, general mineralogy and laboratory measurements.