Object & symbol
Nazar / Evil Eye
A protective-eye motif widely used across Mediterranean, West Asian, and neighboring traditions. A Nazar object may be glass, ceramic, stone, or another material; the symbol does not identify what it is made from.
Materials · 22-entry encyclopedia
Know the material. Then choose what it means to you.
A visual material drawer with transparent-background stone studies, names, identity, care, and naming cautions. There are no current-versus-archive labels because this is reference material, not inventory.
Select any material card to open its visible range, identity, naming note, care guidance, and related reading.
Chalcedony
Black Agate
Open material note
- Visible range
- Opaque to faintly translucent black, sometimes banded
- Identity
- A black chalcedony material sold as agate; natural and treated examples both occur.
- Naming note
- Color alone cannot establish whether black agate is natural, dyed, or heated.
- Care
- Keep away from chemicals and long water exposure; wipe dry.
Tourmaline group
Black Tourmaline
Open material note
- Visible range
- Opaque black with lengthwise striations
- Identity
- Usually schorl, the iron-rich black member of the tourmaline group.
- Naming note
- Growth lines and irregular edges are natural features, not automatic damage.
- Care
- Protect rough or terminated surfaces from impact.
Chalcedony
Blue Lace Agate
Open material note
- Visible range
- Pale blue with white or blue lace-like bands
- Identity
- A banded chalcedony named for its delicate looping pattern.
- Naming note
- Strong, uniform blue color may warrant a treatment question.
- Care
- Use a dry soft cloth; avoid ultrasonic cleaning on uncertain pieces.
Quartz
Clear Quartz
Open material note
- Visible range
- Colorless and transparent to included
- Identity
- Crystalline silicon dioxide. Clarity, inclusions, and growth form vary naturally.
- Naming note
- “Crystal” is a broad word; clear quartz is one specific mineral material.
- Care
- Avoid impact on points and sudden temperature changes.
Quartz growth form
Elestial Quartz
Open material note
- Visible range
- Layered, etched, or multi-terminated surface
- Identity
- A trade and collector term for quartz with complex stepped or skeletal growth.
- Naming note
- Elestial describes morphology, not a separate mineral species.
- Care
- Dust complex surfaces with a soft dry brush.
Quartz
Herkimer Diamond
Open material note
- Visible range
- Clear to included, naturally double-terminated
- Identity
- Quartz crystals from the Herkimer County region of New York; not diamond.
- Naming note
- The geographic name matters. Similar double-terminated quartz from elsewhere is not strictly Herkimer.
- Care
- Protect natural points and small terminations from knocks.
Nephrite jade
Hetian Jade
Open material note
- Visible range
- Cream, white, green, brown, or mottled with a waxy lustre
- Identity
- A trade and geographic term commonly associated with nephrite from the Hetian/Kunlun region.
- Naming note
- “Hetian” should not be used as a blanket name for every pale nephrite object.
- Care
- Wipe gently and avoid aggressive chemical cleaning.
Quartz
Inclusion Quartz
Open material note
- Visible range
- Transparent quartz containing visible mineral or fluid inclusions
- Identity
- Quartz whose internal inclusions are part of the specimen’s growth history.
- Naming note
- An inclusion should be named only when the visual or source evidence supports it.
- Care
- Treat internal fractures and sharp points carefully.
Trade-named rock
Kambaba Jasper
Open material note
- Visible range
- Dark green with black orbicular patterns
- Identity
- A trade name commonly applied to an orbicular rhyolitic rock from Madagascar, not a true jasper in the strict mineralogical sense.
- Naming note
- It should not be presented as fossilized algae without evidence.
- Care
- Dry wipe; protect polished surfaces from harder stones.
Feldspar
Labradorite
Open material note
- Visible range
- Grey body with blue, green, gold, or multicolor flash
- Identity
- A plagioclase feldspar known for labradorescence created by internal structure.
- Naming note
- The flash is directional and may disappear when the viewing angle changes.
- Care
- Feldspar can scratch; store separately and avoid impact.
Rock aggregate
Lapis Lazuli
Open material note
- Visible range
- Deep blue with possible white calcite and gold-toned pyrite
- Identity
- A rock composed mainly of lazurite with other minerals, rather than one mineral species.
- Naming note
- Uniform color is not the only quality signal; dye and stabilization should be disclosed when known.
- Care
- Keep dry and away from acids, perfume, and ultrasonic cleaning.
Magnesium carbonate
Magnesite
Open material note
- Visible range
- Usually white to cream with a porous or dimpled surface; may be dyed
- Identity
- A magnesium carbonate mineral often cut into beads and sometimes dyed blue.
- Naming note
- Dyed magnesite is not turquoise and must not be named as turquoise.
- Care
- Porous and relatively soft: keep dry and away from oils, dye transfer, and chemicals.
Feldspar
Moonstone
Open material note
- Visible range
- Milky, peach, grey, or colorless with a floating sheen
- Identity
- A feldspar material showing adularescence as light moves across layered structure.
- Naming note
- The glow is an optical effect, not light stored inside the stone.
- Care
- Store away from harder stones; avoid knocks and ultrasonic cleaning.
Chalcedony
Moss Agate
Open material note
- Visible range
- Translucent chalcedony with green, brown, or black dendritic inclusions
- Identity
- A chalcedony variety whose inclusions create moss-like patterns.
- Naming note
- It contains no plant matter and is not necessarily banded like strict agate.
- Care
- Dry wipe and protect visible fractures from impact.
Quartz growth form
Phantom Quartz
Open material note
- Visible range
- Quartz with one or more internal crystal outlines
- Identity
- Quartz that records interrupted and resumed growth as a visible phantom layer.
- Naming note
- Phantom describes growth structure, not a separate mineral species.
- Care
- Avoid impacts to points and internal fracture zones.
Trade-named metamorphic rock
Picasso Jasper
Open material note
- Visible range
- Grey, cream, brown, and black with abstract veining
- Identity
- A trade name commonly used for a veined metamorphic rock, often marble-like.
- Naming note
- The commercial name does not make it a true jasper.
- Care
- Keep away from acids and abrasive cleaners.
Jasper / chalcedony
Picture Jasper
Open material note
- Visible range
- Tan, brown, cream, and rust patterns resembling landscapes
- Identity
- An opaque microcrystalline quartz material whose patterns inspire the trade name.
- Naming note
- Scenic imagery is interpretation; it is not evidence of geographic origin.
- Care
- Wipe dry and store away from harder materials.
Chalcedony
Red Agate
Open material note
- Visible range
- Translucent red, orange, or rust, sometimes banded
- Identity
- A red chalcedony or agate material colored by iron compounds; dye and heat also occur in the market.
- Naming note
- Very uniform saturated red should be described with treatment status when known.
- Care
- Avoid chemicals and prolonged sun if treatment is uncertain.
Jasper / chalcedony
Red Jasper
Open material note
- Visible range
- Opaque brick red to brown-red
- Identity
- An opaque microcrystalline quartz material colored mainly by iron oxides.
- Naming note
- It is not the same material category as translucent red agate.
- Care
- Dry wipe; protect polish from harder stones.
Quartz trade name
Strawberry Quartz
Open material note
- Visible range
- Pink to red-speckled translucent quartz
- Identity
- A trade name used for quartz with reddish inclusions; the exact inclusion material can vary.
- Naming note
- The name is not a single formal mineral species and imitation glass also exists.
- Care
- Avoid impact and disclose uncertainty around inclusions or treatment.
Feldspar
Sunstone
Open material note
- Visible range
- Peach, orange, red, or pale body with reflective platelets
- Identity
- A feldspar showing aventurescence from reflective inclusions.
- Naming note
- Color and sparkle vary by feldspar type and inclusion; not every orange feldspar is identical.
- Care
- Feldspar scratches more easily than quartz; store separately.
Copper aluminium phosphate
Turquoise
Open material note
- Visible range
- Blue to green, often with brown or dark matrix
- Identity
- A porous phosphate mineral. Natural, stabilized, treated, reconstituted, dyed, and imitation material all exist.
- Naming note
- Blue color alone never proves turquoise identity or origin.
- Care
- Keep dry and away from perfume, oils, cosmetics, heat, and ultrasonic cleaning.
No matching material.Try a mineral family, a color, or clear the filter.
Separate from mineral identity
A symbol is not a stone species.
Nazar and Eye of Horus stay discoverable here, but their cultural history, object material, and modern use are described separately from mineral identity.
Object & symbol
Eye of Horus / Wedjat
An ancient Egyptian symbol with a long cultural history. A modern carving or bead should name the actual stone or manufactured material separately from the motif.
It identifies materials, trade names, visible traits, treatment questions, and safer care defaults. Traditional associations can be discussed as tradition, not as medical fact or a promised result.
Material literacy
Read a stone label in four layers.
The visual drawer is the index. These four layers explain how à la luck separates what can be observed, what can be evidenced, and what remains personal.
01 · Identity
Mineral, rock, glass, or trade name?
A familiar market name is not always a formal mineral species. Lapis lazuli is a rock aggregate; “Herkimer Diamond” is quartz; Kambaba Jasper is a trade-named rock. The label should keep those distinctions visible.
02 · Visible evidence
Photographs show appearance, not a full chain of custody.
Color, translucency, inclusions, matrix, polish, and growth form can be described from a specimen. A photograph alone cannot prove treatment history, mine-level origin, or certification.
03 · Known and unknown
Uncertainty is part of an honest record.
Supplier names stay supplier claims until supporting evidence allows something more specific. Treatment, geographic origin, and inclusion identity are not upgraded from “possible” to “confirmed” for a better story.
04 · Meaning
Material fact and personal symbolism can coexist.
A stone can carry cultural associations or private meaning without becoming a medical claim. The wearer decides what a piece represents; the material record stays responsible for what the object actually is.
How to use the encyclopedia
Seven material questions, answered plainly.
What does the Stone Lexicon record?
Each entry separates material identity, trade naming, visible range, treatment questions, naming cautions, and a safer care default. It is a reference for reading labels and product notes, not an inventory list.
What can a stone photograph prove?
A photograph can show visible color, texture, inclusions, and form. It cannot prove mine-level origin, treatment history, certification, or a complete chain of custody on its own. The exact product page is the final record for the piece being sold.
How should I read a material card?
Start with Identity, then compare the Visible range with the image. Read the Naming note for common trade-name or treatment confusion, and use Care as a conservative default unless the exact product page gives a more specific instruction.
Are material facts and personal meaning the same thing?
No. Mineral identity and treatment are evidence questions. Symbolism and traditional associations are cultural or personal context; they are not medical facts, diagnoses, or guaranteed outcomes.
How are treatment and origin handled?
Treatment or mine-level origin is stated only when the available supplier record, testing, or other evidence supports it. When evidence is incomplete, the entry names the limit instead of turning a possibility into a fact.
Why can two examples of the same material look different?
Natural materials vary in color, inclusions, crystal habit, matrix, surface, and cut. A family name describes shared material identity; it does not promise that every specimen will match one reference image.
Which care instruction should I follow for a finished piece?
Use the most conservative instruction for the complete construction. A hard stone can still be paired with softer stone, natural cord, plated metal, pearl, bone, old glass, or adhesive. The exact product page takes priority over this general reference.
Want to know how a source claim is recorded?Read the evidence boundary before choosing a piece.
Open Sourcing Standards