Factsheets

Amber

A sticky resin from prehistoric tree bark. As featured in the movie Jurassic Park!

Amethyst

Named from the Greek "amethystos", may be translated as not drunken - believed to be an antidote for drunkeness since ancient times.

Ammonites

Ammonite species are long since extinct, their nearest equivalent today is the nautilus found in the Pacific Ocean.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine (literally meaning ‘sea water’) can appear either blue or colourless depending on the angle of viewing.

Calcite

The name derives from the latin word Calx meaning lime. Calcite is found in a wide array of forms and colours.

Celestite

A mineral named for its delicate blue colour, from the latin caelestis (celestial, heavenly). Celestite is famously found in the Bristol/Yate area of south Gloucestershire, but gem quality is, alas, found no nearer than Madagascar.

Charoite

Named after the Chara river in Yakutia, Siberia, Russia - the only source.

Fluorite

From the latin fluo meaning stream or flow of water. The interplay of light in the extraordinary crystal structure and colour variation gives fluorite a feel no other stone enjoys.

Fossil Wood

Some of the largest specimens have come from the Santa Cruz area of southern Argentina with trunks measuring up to 30m (100’) long and 3m (10’) in diameter.

Jasper

A form of chalcedony, used decoratively since ancient times. Almost all colours appear in the full range of jaspers!

Labradorite

Named after the Labraodor peninsula where it was first found in 1770. Our Labradorite is sourced in Madagascar

Larimar

Only found in the Dominican republic. Named after the daughter of one of its discoverers (Larissa) and the Spanish for sea (Mar).

Moldavite

Found ONLY in the Czech Republic near the Moldau River (hence the name moldavite).

Obsidian

Named after its similarity to a stone found by a roman named 'Obsius' in Ethiopia. In use since pre-history.

Opal

The name is strongly believed to derive from the Sanskrit 'upala' meaning stone.

Orthoceras

The word orthoceras means 'straight horn', referring to the characteristic long, straight, conical body.

Peridot

The name originates either from the Arabic faridat meaning gem or from the classical Latin pæderot - a kind of opal

Quartz

Quartz crystals form when molten rock rich in silica cools down. It is found worldwide and makes up over one tenth of the Earth’s crust.

Rose Quartz

A type of quartz named after its colour which varies from pale to mid pink. We stock rose quartz in many different form, from spheres and eggs to small crystals to big boulders to jewellery of every type.

Selenite

Named from the Greek selenites - 'stone of the moon' - referring to its moonlight effect, selenite spheres often have exceptional and inspiring crosses of inner light.

Topaz

The name topaz is derived from the Sanskrit tapas meaning heat or fire. Known and used since antiquity.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline shows the greatest range of colours of any gemstone and can show spectacular multicoloured bands within a crystal.

Trilobites

Hard shelled, many legged creatures, many of which roamed the sea floor for nearly 300 million years, becoming finally extinct about 250 million years ago.