Matching "crystals" Tag

Crystals have been revered and sold throughout history. From enigmatic crystal skulls; to clear quartz crystal balls used for fortune-telling; to crystal jewellery; crystals come in many forms. For example, thousands years ago crystals such as carnelians were used to make amulets in Ancient Egypt, where sections of the Book of the Dead were carved onto its surface: the finished product was kept in the deceased’s tomb to help their journey into the afterlife. …

It was time to prepare again for the second trip of the year to Madagascar to fill up a twenty foot container full of Crystals and Fossils to bring back to the UK. The journey takes about twenty four hours of travelling filled with excitement at what wonders we will be able to obtain for our customers. It has been eighteen and a half years now of travelling to this mysterious island off the east coast of Africa and i often reflect on the many trips i have taken there in the different seasons.…

Pure quartz is beautiful. Sleek clear quartz has a world-renowned aesthetic. Yet alongside pure quartz there exists the equally, if not more, beautiful varieties of quartz which also contain mineral inclusions. Included quartz is the name for quartz pieces which in addition to the usual quartz crystalline structure, are also composed from various other minerals or crystals, for example epidote or tourmaline (the aforementioned ‘inclusions’). …

Recently, the fossil world has been taken by storm via a series of fascinating discoveries, particularly of rare dinosaur fossils that have shed light on important evolutionary processes. A landmark discovery has taken place recently: within the jaw of a duck-billed dwarf dinosaur (hadrosaur), the first ever facial tumour in a fossil has been found. This 69 million years old …

We have just received the fruits from the trip I took to Madagascar in early March 2016 to fill a 20 foot container full of fossils and crystals. I arrived just after the rainy season and the days were baking hot with cool evenings often interrupted by violent thunder storms which set the skies alight with the dancing lightning and the deep and ominous bellows of thunder reverberating around the capital of Madagascar Antananarivo which is generally affectionately called Tana.…

Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, near Africa, that is filled with unparalleled riches of fossils and crystals. The island is famous for its unique flora and fauna, particular the lemur species; one of the beautiful smaller islands that envelop the main island, Nosy Komba, is even referred to as the Island of Lemurs. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, for most of its wildlife cannot be found anywhere else on Earth due to the evolution of its populations in isolation from the rest of the world.…

Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the world. It can be found in many locations across the globe, andphantom quartz in either sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic rock. It owes its name to the German language, however the ancient Greeks referred to quartz with their word for ‘ice cold’ because prominent thinkers of the time believed the mineral to have been created from ice. …

Due to its calming rosy pink colour, rose quartz has enjoyed enduring popularity throughout the centuries. Often referred to as a ‘love stone’, rose quartz is said to bring unconditional love, in any form, to those who own it; whether that be through family, friends or romance. Similarly, it is a centrepiece of feng shui as a healing stone for rocky romances or bad breakups.…

Carnelian, a beautiful orange-red crystal, derives its name from the cornel cherry due to the similarities between their alluring red shades. A form of chalcedony (a silica crystal composed from quartz), carnelian differs from this mineral because of its famed reddish tints, which are the result of iron oxide impurities within the chalcedony structure. Vibrant and vivid, the flame-like colours have influenced its place in the practice of feng shui;…

Citrine is a prized gemstone whose name originates from the Latin word ‘citrina’, meaning lemon, due to its famed lemon-yellow hue. Though many citrine crystals are lemon coloured, this gem exhibits a variety of shades of yellow; from burnt, summery yellows to pale golds. There are many theories about the cause of this rare colour,…