Heart of Stone Studio Blog

Carnelian

Hello, I’m Con from Heart of Stone Studio. I would like to tell you about Carnelian.

Carnelian is a microcrystalline quartz, made up of silicon dioxide with iron oxide impurities that give it its distinct red color. It is in the chalcedony family of quartzes, with the quartz arranged in fibrous layers. This is different from the jaspers, where the quartz is arranged in sugar-like grains. The structure of the quartz in Carnelian gives some pieces a partial translucency.

The origin of the name Carnelian is not clear. Some people say that it comes from the Latin Carne, which means flesh. Others say that it comes from the Latin Corneus, which means horn. Still others suggest that it comes from the Latin Corneolus, which means cherry, because of its color.

The stone is found in a variety of places around the world. The best Carnelian comes from India, where people put brownish stones out into the sun and the heat of the sun turns the brown colors red.

Carnelian has a long history of use by people.

Its use in jewelry dates back more than four thousand years. On Crete, Carnelian was found in decorative pieces dating from the Bronze Age, and archeologists have found that this stone was worked by ancient jewelers as far back as the 4th or 5th millennium. 

In ancient Egypt Carnelian was worn by master architects, and was also worn by warriors to give them courage. It was placed in Egyptian tombs as magic armor for life after death and was worn by living people to protect themselves from falling into  hatred, anger, jealousy, and envy.

Egyptians set it in collars and necklaces with onyx and lapis lazuli, and Romans set it in gold for earrings or finger rings.

Because it is a hard stone with a Mohs hardness of 7, it can be carved with images or symbols.  Wax will not stick to Carnelian, so it was used for seals and signets in ancient times. Many Roman seals, and the stones in many Roman signet rings, are Carnelian.

Some say that Carnelian has a number of metaphysical properties. It is said to activate the first, second and third chakras, giving the wearer life force, sexual and creative energy. It is promoted as being good for people who want to make things happen. It can help people take the leap to a new path and helps overcome the fear of taking action.

Carnelian is said to be a good stone to wear for those who are afraid of public speaking, because it is supposed to give self-confidence and strengthens the voice. For this reason, it is a good stone to wear for people who are making theatrical presentations.

In a business context, Carnelian is said to support leadership, courage, and enterprise, and anchors people into the present reality. It is said to aid in decision making, and defines and strengthens a person’s identity.

We have a number of Carnelian cabochons on our Heart of Stone Studio website, www.heartofstonestudio.com.

Check out our YouTube video on Carnelian.

Pietersite

Hello, I'm Con from Heart of Stone Studio. I would like to tell you about Pietersite.

In 1962, a miner named Sid Pieters  found a large stone near a farm in Outjo in north-central Namibia. The stone was covered with limestone and quite heavy, so he took it back to Windhoek, the largest city in Namibia, where he cut it open. Inside he found something that he had never seen before. He described his find in the mineral records of Britain in 1964, and named the mineral “Pietersite.” 

Namibian Pietersite is found inside river cobbles or large stones buried in the sand. No one knows where the mineral actually comes from, but it has been mined by digging down into river sand, sometimes more than 2 meters (6 feet) below the surface, to excavate the cobbles.

One of the amazing features of Pietersite is its chatoyance, which means that it changes colors and brightness when you change your angle of viewing. Dull browns can become bright yellows, reds, or blues, sometimes looking like an abstract painting with bands and swirls of different colors.

This chatoyance is a result of the mineral structure of Pietersite. It is brecciated, which means that there are broken fragments of other minerals jumbled up and folded inside a matrix of some kind of material, in this case quartz. Think of a lot of chocolate chips inside a matrix of dough, and you will have the concept of brecciated.

This brecciated structure can contain the minerals crocidolite, dolomite, barite, and pyrite as microcrystalline fibers and inclusions in the Namibian Pietersite.

It is a relatively hard mineral, with a Mohs hardness of 6.5-7.0.

Other than the source in Namibia, Pietersite has also been found in China, and Chinese Pietersite has been on the market since 1997. However, the Chinese Pietersite is different from the Namibian, in that it contains more hematite and has more reds and blues than the Namibian one.

In either location, Pietersite is quite scarce. The Namibian mining operation is said to cover just 10 acres, and the Chinese mine is rumored to have been shut down.  As a result, Pietersite prices continue to skyrocket as the demand often exceeds the supply.

From a metaphysical standpoint, Pietersite is said to have a lot of properties.  It is said to encourage clarity of thought and intuition. It is also said to stimulate the third eye, leading to an awareness of the future, and it is said that its use in meditation can sometimes lead to blissful enlightenment.  Some metaphysical theoreticians call Pietersite the “Tempest Stone,” because like a storm, it is said to bring cleansing energy to create change.

We have a number of Pietersite cabochons on our Heart of Stone Studio website, www.heartofstonestudio.com.

Check out our YouTube video on Pietersite.

Bumblebee Jasper

Hello, I’m Con from Heart of Stone Studio. I would like to tell you about Bumblebee Jasper.

First, Bumblebee Jasper is not a Jasper, which is a form of chalcedony and microgranular quartz.

Instead, Bumblebee Jasper is actually a fibrous calcite with some other minerals mixed in. The yellows and oranges are caused by a mineral called realgar, which is composed of arsenic and sulfide. The blacks are caused by pyrite.

Even though arsenic is present in small amounts in cabochons, Bumblebee Jasper should be handled cautiously using safe handling methods, particularly if it is being cut or worked.

It is a relatively soft stone, with a Mohs hardness of around 5.

The stone is found on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Papandayan in West Java, Indonesia.

From a metaphysical standpoint, Bumblebee Jasper is said to provide boosts of energy and improve concentration.

We have a number of Bumblebee Jasper cabochons on our website, www.heartofstonestudio.com.

Check out our YouTube video about Bumblebee Jasper.