The Best Stones for Reducing Stress and Anxiety

By Charli Lundholm Did you know crystals and other stones can help decrease stress? They can! So I would like to introduce you to some powerful crystals that can help alleviate stress and promote a sense of calm in your daily life. Crystals have been used for centuries as tools for healing and balancing energies, […]

Why We Love Lightning Ridge Opal

By Neville Ryan – EarthGallery.com Lightning Ridge is a small opal mining town in north-western New South Wales near the border of Queensland in Australia. It is home to the world famous black opal. This opal is the rarest and most expensive opal found in the world today. How rare? Some miners persevere for years […]

What’s the Scoop About Lapis Lazuli

By Neville Ryan Until recent years it was almost impossible to obtain large pieces of top quality Royal Blue Lapis because of the difficulty of mining and export from Afghanistan. The easing of restrictions means that large polished pieces are now possible. How long will it last? No one knows! For most of its history […]

Marra Mamba Tiger Eye

Marra Mamba Tiger Eye Marra Mamba tiger eye is regarded as the finest quality tiger eye available. It is highly sought after by cutters, jewelers,  and collectors around the world. Marra Mamba tiger eye is famous for its intense tiger eye colors of red, orange, blue, copper and yellow. Tiger eye isn’t the only contributor […]

Rare Louisiana Sand Opal

Louisiana Sand Opal showing a range of colors. Louisiana Opal was found in the Catahoula Formation in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. The only commercial producer was the Hidden Fire Opal Mine which operated on leased land and was closed down in the early 1990’s. Only small quantities were mined and rough material, in quantity, is very […]

Andamooka Rainbow Matrix Opal

Andamooka Rainbow Matrix Opal Andamooka is a small mining town in the desert of South Australia and is the only area that produces Rainbow Opal Matrix. This type of opal is found in minuscule pores interspersed throughout its limestone host rather than in seams such as found in Coober Pedy. The limestone is white and […]

Rare Ellensburg Blue Agate

A Large Specimen of Ellensburg Blue Agate The Ellensburg Blue agate is regarded as the third rarest gemstone in the world. It is the only blue agate regarded as a “precious gemstone.” Ellensburg Blue agate is only found in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains northwest of Ellensburg, Washington, USA. Volcanic action, millions of years […]

Boulder Opal

Queensland Boulder Opal is mined in the desert regions of the state of Queensland in Australia centered mainly around the towns of Winton and Quilpie. As is implied by the name the opal is found in or nodular or boulder ironstone formations, in vertical and horizontal cracks, which are cut open to see what gems […]

Opals

Opal comes in many different forms from countries throughout the world. Australia has been the biggest producer for many years and includes boulder opal from Queensland, black opal from Lightning Ridge, crystal and white opal from Coober Pedy and crystal and matrix opal from Andamooka. The mining town of Mentabie used to be a major […]

Malachite

Malachite is a copper based mineral and can vary between botryoidal, fibrous, stalagmitic or massive forms. The color varies through bright green, dark green, blackish green with some being almost black. The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently the largest producer of Malachite but it is found worldwide including Australia, France, Mexico, Namibia, Russia, and […]

Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase is a beautiful stone that is often sold in Asia as Australian Jade. It isn’t! The stone is a form of chalcedony that has been colored green by the inclusion of nickel and is formed mainly in veins and nodules.  Chrysoprase is found in various countries including Russia, Brazil and Tanzania but the finest […]

Chrysocolla

Chrysocolla is a copper derivative mineral that may contain an assortment of minerals including malachite, azurite limonite, cuprite and quartz. It is generally found either in veins, botryoidal or in rounded masses. It has a Moh’s hardness rating ranging from 2 to 7. This large variation is dependent on the amount of silica included with […]

Using Stones During the Corona Virus Pandemic

Within a matter of a few weeks, our world has completely changed as a result of the corona virus. We are now sheltering in place, trying to keep ourselves and loved ones safe. We are washing our hands constantly. People are donning masks and gloves to go get essentials like food and medication. All of […]

Why Lapis? Because It Reduces Stress!

Lapis is one of the only natural blue minerals that is found in large enough pieces to be carved or sculpted with no dyes or man made treatments, just Mother Nature producing a unique stone. The only presence of man is the rounding and polishing of each piece. Lapis has been desired for thousands of […]

Blue Needle Crystals

By Charli Lundholm EarthGallery.com Blue needle quartz crystals aren’t necessarily rare, they just usually go unnoticed. You usually find them by surprise when you use a light to see the inside of a crystal and then you get gifted with the sight of thin blue lines inside the stone.  They aren’t actually needles. They are […]