Tumbled Stone Identification
Tumbled Stone Identification Chart
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Amazonite
Amazonite is a green microcline feldspar. It is named after the Amazon River of South America, where the first commercial deposits were found. The stones shown here are a light green Amazonite that was mined in Mozambique. Shop for Amazonite.
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Apache Tears
Apache Tears are round nodules of obsidian that polish to a beautiful jet black color. If you hold them up to the light you will see that they are a translucent to transparent glass. These polished Apache Tears were produced from a material found in Arizona (USA). Shop for Apache Tears.
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Apricot Agate
Apricot Agate is a banded agate that is named for its apricot pink or orange color. It is a beautiful material with bands of whites, creams, yellows, oranges and pinks. The stones shown here were produced from agate mined in Botswana (Africa). Shop for Apricot Agate.
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Banded Amethyst
Amethyst is the name given to transparent to translucent purple quartz. It often forms in alternating bands with white to clear quartz. The resulting material is called Banded Amethyst or sometimes Chevron Amethyst. The Banded Amethyst used to produce these stones was mined in Namibia (Africa). Shop for Banded Amethyst.
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Banded Carnelian
Carnelian is a translucent orange to red or brown agate. It often forms in alternating bands with white chalcedony. The result is known as Banded Carnelian. These stones were produced from an orange to pink material mined in Botswana (Africa). Shop for Banded Carnelian.
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Black Moonstone
Moonstone occurs in a wide variety of colors, including black and dark gray. The black to gray bodycolor is visible from most directions, but when the angle of light or angle of observation is just right, a flash of silver adularescence is produced. The luster approaches metallic.
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Black Tourmaline
Tourmaline has one of the widest color ranges of any gem. The colors are caused by the mineral’s many compositions. The most common tourmaline color is a material that is so black that it is essentially opaque. This pitch-black variety is known as “schorl.”
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Bloodstone
Bloodstone, also known as heliotrope, is a green jasper splashed with small drops of red. The red drops remind many people of blood and that is the source of the name Bloodstone. It has been a popular stone since Biblical times. The Bloodstone shown here was produced from material mined in India.
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Blue Beryl
Beryl is mineral that occurs in a variety of colors. When it is attractive it is used as a gem. Transparent blue beryl is the very popular gemstone known as “aquamarine”. When it is translucent to opaque the name “blue beryl” is most appropriate but some mall jewelry stores use the name aquamarine. Shop for Blue Beryl.
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Blue Chalcedony
There are very few blue gemstones. Occasionally the variety of microcrystalline quartz known as chalcedony occurs in a blue color, such as this blue material mined in Namibia (Africa).
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Blue Lace Agate
Blue Lace Agate is the name given to a chalcedony that consists of alternating bands of white agate and subtle blue to transparent agate. The result is a lacy appearance that looks like blue lace. The Blue Lace Agate shown here was produced from material found in Namibia (Africa). Shop for Blue Lace Agate.
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Blue Quartzite
Blue quartzite is a metamorphosed sandstone that receives its color from tiny blue inclusions of a fibrous mineral that is probably dumortierite. The abundance of the inclusions causes color variation within the stone and some intense blue bands where the inclusions are most abundant. Shop for Blue Quartzite.
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Botswana Agate
Botswana Agate is a name given to a banded agate found in Botswana (Africa). This agate typically has wonderful white, gray and brown banding – sometimes with “eyes” – and takes a very high polish. Shop for Botswana Agate.
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Brecciated Jasper
“Breccia” is a rock composed of angular fragments. Brecciated jasper consists of jasper fragments cemented together with agate or jasper. The Brecciated Jasper shown here is a bright red material with white, gray and black markings. These stones were produced from material found in South Africa. Shop for Brecciated Jasper.
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Carnelian Agate
Carnelian Agate is a translucent orange to red or brown agate. It has been a popular gemstone since Biblical times. The stones shown here have a bright orange color and a very bright polish. They were produced from agate found in Botswana (Africa). Shop for Carnelian.
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Chrysocolla in Quartz
Chrysocolla is a vivid blue to blue-green mineral that contains copper. It often forms in intimate association with quartz or chalcedony to yield a durable gemstone. Chrysocolla is often found associated with copper deposits much like the mineral turquoise. These stones were produced from material mined in Namibia (Africa). Shop for Chrysocolla.
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Cinnabrite
Cinnabrite is a rock composed of scapolite (white) and epidote (red). Its eye-catching appearance makes it an interesting gem material for making cabochons, tumbled stones and other items. Its name makes some people think that it is composed of cinnabar and quartz, but that is incorrect.
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Citrine Quartz
Citrine is a variety of transparent to translucent quartz that ranges in color from a light yellow through orange to amber brown. Yellow and golden citrine is especially popular. These stones were produced from material found in Brazil. Most citrine quartz is produced by heat-treating Amethyst. Shop for Citrine Quartz.
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Citron Magnesite
Citron Magnesite is a pale green to bright green magnesium carbonate with a color similar to ripening citrus fruit. That’s the source of the name “citron”. These stones have a soft luster polish and were produced from material found in Australia. Shop for Citron Magnesite.
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Clear Quartz
Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals in Earth’s crust but clear specimens with very little color and nearly free from inclusions are seldom found. They are known as “clear quartz” or “rock crystal”. They capture the light and have a “bright” appearance. Shop for Clear Quartz.
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Coloured Moonstone
Moonstone is the name used for stones of orthoclase feldspar with a soft pearly luster, sometimes with adularescence. It occurs in a variety of colors which include: white, cream, pink, brown and gray. These colored moonstones were produced from material found in India. Shop for Colored Moonstone.
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Confusionite
Confusionite is a material that, at least to the observer, is difficult or impossible to identify. No person who possesses an abundant number of polished stones should be ashamed to confess that he can not identify a significant number. These stones can be called “confusionite” to reduce embarrassment.
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Coral, Agatized
A rare find is fossil coral that has been replaced by agate – or agatized. This type of fossilization often preserves the structure of the coral individual or colony. The result can be a beautiful stone that can be polished to display cross and lateral sections through the coral fossil.
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Crackle Quartz
“Crackle Quartz” is a name used for quartz specimens that have been heat treated and then dyed to change their color. The heat treatment produces fractures in the stone that facilitate the penetration of dyes. Crackle Quartz is sometimes found in our Souvenir Mix.
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Crazy Lace Agate
Crazy Lace Agate is a white to gray botryoidal agate with colorful stains that are usually yellow, orange, red and brown. Most of the material offered for sale originates in Mexico. It exhibits a lace-like pattern of curves and eyes and is a popular material for tumbled stones, cabochons and beads. Shop for Crazy Lace Agate.
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Dalmatian Stone
Dalmatian Stone is white to gray igneous rock with black spots. It is given that name because white specimens have a color pattern similar to a Dalmatian dog. Dalmatian Stone is often dyed a variety of colors. Dyed Dalmatian Stone is usually found in our Souvenir Mix.
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Dolomite
Dolomite is a sedimentary rock that is very similar to limestone. Most people would never think of it as a gemstone. However, it can be brightly polished by people who know how, and, it often contains interesting fossils of brachiopods, crinoids, bryozoans and other ancient organisms.
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Dumortierite
Dumortierite is a bright blue, dark blue or greenish-blue mineral that is occasionally found in metamorphic rocks. It can be polished to a high luster and is one of just a few blue minerals that are hard enough to be used as a gemstone. The stones shown here were produced from material mined in Mozambique (Africa). Shop for Dumortierite.
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Dyed Agate
Agate is a variety of chalcedony that can be extremely colorful. It is slightly porous, with some bands and zones being more porous than others. When heat treated and exposed to dye, the porous zones absorb more dye than the less porous, producing a stone that is banded with various color intensities.
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Eye Agate
“Eye agates” are rare agatesthat have perfectly circular markings or “eyes”. These are actually three-dimensional features that extend into the stone in the shape of a hemisphere. Sometimes eye agatehas concentric or “bull’s eye” color zones. Lake Superior and Botswana agates frequently display eyes.
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Fluorite
Fluorite occurs in a variety of colors such as purple, green, yellow, blue and clear – that are often banded. It often has a wonderful fluorescence. Although it is beautiful it is not well suited for jewelry use because it has a hardness of four and has perfect cleavage in four directions.. Shop for Fluorite.
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Gneiss
Gneiss is a metamorphic rock in the shale – slate – phyllite – schist – gneiss sequence. It usually contains an abundance of feldspar minerals and quartz. Many specimens of gneiss can be brightly polished in a rock tumbler if they do not contain very much mica.
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Goldstone
Goldstone is a man-made glass that contains abundant crystals with a bright metallic luster. Flat faces of the crystals catch and reflect light to give the stone a glittering appearance. The glittering is triggered by moving the stone, moving the light, or changing the angle of observation. Shop for Goldstone.
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Granite
Granite is an igneous rock composed of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of micas, amphiboles and other minerals. It can be pink, white or gray in color. Although the minerals in granite have various hardnesses, it can easily be tumbled into attractive stones. Here are a few granitesthat we tumbled.
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Green Aventurine
Aventurine is a translucent quartz with inclusions of platy minerals such as muscovite mica, hematite or goethite. The inclusions reflect light entering the stone to produce a glistening known as “aventurescence.” These stones were produced from material from Zimbabwe (Africa). Shop for Green Aventurine.
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Green Jasper
The most common jasper color is red and after that in abundance is green jasper. It is often a very very dark green – so dark that at first glance you think that it is black. When green jasper is marked with red splotches, the rock is then known as “bloodstone”.
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Green Moss Agate
Moss agate is a translucent to transparent chalcedony that contains visible inclusions with a mossy or dendritic shape. The moss agate shown here has dark green inclusions. These stones were produced from material found in India. Shop for Green Moss Agate.
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Grossularite Garnet
The grossularite garnet used to make tumbled stones, beads and carvings is an opaque, massive garnet that often has an attractive green color. It is found in South Africa where it has been incorrectly called “Transvaal Jade” (it has no mineralogical relationship with jade). Shop for Grossularite Garnet.
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Hematite
Hematite is an iron oxide mineral with a bright red or silver color. It is has a specific gravity that is about double that of the typical gemstone – thus it feels very heavy. This hematite has a bright silver metallic luster. These hematite used to produce these stones was found in Brazil. Shop for Hematite.
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Hypersthene
Hypersthene is a black silicate mineral occasionally found in igneous rocks such as gabbro, basalt and andesite. It accepts a bright polish which sometimes reveals zones and bands of a phenomena that seems transitional between chatoyance and play-of-color. Shop for Hypersthene.
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Jet
Jet is an organic rock similar to coal, but instead of breaking like coal it can be cut, carved or polished into interesting sculptures, beads or faceted stones. Jet is a very light-weight material and was popular in jewelry of the Victorian Era. It is rarely seen as a tumbled stone. Shop for Jet.
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Kambamba Jasper
Kambamba Jasper is a dark green orbicular jasper that takes a nice polish and is found in Madagascar. The Kambamba jasper shown here is a dark green material with green to black circular markings (orbs). Kambamba is also known as “crocodile stone” because the markings on it remind some people of crocodile skin. Shop for Kambamba Jasper.
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Labradorite
Labradorite is a variety of plagioclase feldspar that often exhibits bright flashes of electric yellow, green or blue when played in the light. This phenomenon is unique to the mineral and has been named “labradorescence”. It is one of our favorite tumbled stones. Shop for Labradorite.
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Lake Superior Agate
Lake Superior Agates are banded chalcedony nodules that formed in the gas vesicles of ancient Canadian lava flows. Glaciers then scoured them from their host rock and carried them south into the Great Lakes region of the United States. They are beautiful red, brown and often crystal-centered agates. Shop for Lake Superior Agate Rough.
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Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli is a gemstone that has been popular since Biblical times. It is one of just a few blue gemstones. It often contains white calcite veins and sparkles of gold pyrite. The stones shown here have a bright blue color and were produced from material mined in Chile. Shop for Lapis Lazuli.
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Leopard Skin
Leopard Skin looks like its name. It is a cream to tan to pink rhyolite with black, white, red, or tan markings in a color pattern that resembles the fur of a leopard. It is a popular gemstone that polishes well. These stones were produced from material mined in Mexico. Shop for Leopard Skin.
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Lepidolite
Lepidolite is a variety of mica that occurs in a spectrum of colors that range from pink to deep lavender. The stones shown here are tumbled quartz pebbles that have enough lepidolite inclusions to yield pink and lavender gemstones.
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Lilac Amethyst
Amethyst is a purple variety of crystalline quartz that can be transparent through translucent. When it has a soft purple color it is often called “lilac amethyst”. The stones shown here were produced from material mined in South Africa. Shop for Lilac Amethyst.
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Lionskin
Lionskin is a rock that contains fragments of golden tiger’s eye and other material cemented in a clear quartz or milky agate matrix. It might be considered a “tiger’s eye breccia” because the tiger’s eye fragments are angular in shape. Many of the breccia fragments display the chatoyance that gives tiger’s eye its name. Shop for Lionskin.
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Lodestone
Lodestone has amazed people for thousands of years because it is a natural magnet. When suspended on a string, it will orient itself with Earth’s magnetic field. It has a silver metallic luster and is a variety of the iron ore magnetite. These specimens were found in the United States.
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