Turquoise is a porous copper aluminum phosphate prized from ancient Egypt to the American Southwest. Learn its mineral facts, sources, history, traditional meanings, gentle care, common treatments and how to spot dyed howlite and other fakes.
Malachite is the banded green copper mineral behind palace columns and ancient pigments. Learn its real mineral facts, history, traditional meanings, dust and acid cautions, gentle care and how to spot resin and reconstituted fakes.
Pyrite, or fool's gold, is iron sulfide with a brassy shine and natural cubic crystals. Learn its real mineral facts, history, traditional meanings, why it must stay dry, and how to spot assembled or treated pieces.
Crystal bracelet meanings by stone, how to measure your wrist and pick bead size, which stones hold up to daily wear, how to spot dyed, glass and magnetic look-alikes, and how to care for stretch bracelets.
A guide to purple crystals and their meanings: amethyst, lepidolite, charoite, sugilite, purple fluorite, iolite and lavender jade, with real mineral facts, origins, care rules and common fakes.
A guide to pink crystals and their meanings: rose quartz, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, pink tourmaline, morganite, kunzite, pink opal and mangano calcite, with real mineral facts, care rules and common fakes.
The modern birthstone list month by month, where it came from, the traditional meanings of each stone, real hardness facts and how to clean and care for every birthstone without damaging it.
Six durable, affordable crystals for beginners: clear quartz, amethyst, rose quartz, carnelian, tiger's eye and black tourmaline. Real mineral facts, traditional meanings, buying tips and which stones to skip at first.
Howlite is the soft white stone with gray veins that is often dyed blue to pass as turquoise. Learn what it is, where it comes from, traditional meanings, care and how to tell natural howlite from dyed look-alikes.
Peridot is the olive-green August birthstone found in lava, deep in the Earth and even in meteorites. Learn the science, history, traditional meanings, care and how to spot glass and look-alike fakes.