45 Crystals (With Pictures + Tips To Identify Them)

[MistressOfTheMoon]

These are photos of some crystals from my collection, including their names. I am no expert but I did a lot of research so I could find out which crystals I had. The shop I buy them from doesn't have names for them which is why I have to identify them on my own. That said, I am not 100% sure about some of these crystals' names since I only use my naked eye and my phone's camera and LED flash to check for certain properties of crystals like transparency, aventurescence, etc.

NOTE: If you think I named a crystal wrong, please do speak your mind. Feel free to correct me by posting on this thread. I still have SO MANY crystals left unnamed but won't be posting them just yet.



Crystal Quartz



Green Aventurine - TIP: You can't tell it from this photo but you can identify an aventurine from its glittery effect. Shine light on it and move it around to check for these glitters. This is called aventurescence and the amount of glitters may vary from sparse to immense. No other green stone (not even real Jade) has these glitters.



Green and white Jade



Moss Agate



Labradorite - TIP: Labradorite exhibits Labradorescence. It is a fluorescent play of colors when viewed at certain angles.



Tree agate

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Amethyst



Lapis Lazuli - TIP: Lapis Lazuli usually contains pyrite (see those gold flecks?). This stone may not always have pyrite though. But it's the pyrite which makes it easy to distinguish from dumortierite, sodalite, and blue quartz.



Red coral



Tiger's Iron (left) contains Tiger's Eye, Hematite, and Jasper. Tiger's Eye (right) exhibits chayotancy or an optical reflection that resembles the cat's eye and includes only hematite. You can easily tell hematite from its silver-black metallic reflection when hit by light.




Red jasper with hematite? I'm not sure. But I'm fairly certain the black inclusions are hematite.



Carnelian - Most likely heat-treated. TIP: It can be distinguished from sard by its orange-red hue. It shouldn't have any banding and the color may not be even throughout the stone.

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Howlite



Eye Agate



White calcite - TIP: Calcite reacts to weak acid. Place some vinegar on it. I would suggest using a needle-less syringe or a dropper and just put 1-2 drops because this will damage the stone. If the drop of vinegar starts to develop bubbles, it may be calcite. (Note: Minerals and rocks containing carbon dioxide like dolomite react the same way to weak acids but at least this test would narrow it down)



Herkimer Diamond



Snow Quartz



Rose Quartz - It's hard to tell but the two smaller stones in this photo have a pale pink shade.

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Dalmatian Jasper



Unakite



Snowflake Obsidian



Tiger's Eye



Sodalite



Crazy Lace Agate

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Rhodonite



Botswana Agate



White Chalcedony* may be synthetic



Obsidian - Pure black stone with a glassy appearance.



Green Chalcedony* may be synthetic



Sard - TIP: Sard is a variety of chalcedony like Carnelian. Unlike Carnelian, it tends to range from orange to brown in color. It should not have bands and may have an uneven color. This is NOT Copal because it does not react to solvent or Amber because it's cold to touch. Copal reacts to solvent and Amber is warm to touch, creates static when rubbed on wool for 20 seconds, and has an aromatic smell when burned. I believe Copal has the same aroma.

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Bloodstone or Heliotrope



Turquoise



Carnelian Agate - Banded form of Carnelian.



Peach Aventurine - TIP: You can't tell it from this photo but you can identify an aventurine from its glittery effect. Shine light on it and move it around to check for these glitters. This is called aventurescence and the amount of glitters may vary from sparse to immense.



Golden Beryl



White chalcedony with Carnelian (not sure here)

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Red Jasper



Brecciated Red Jasper - This is NOT Mahogany Obsidian which has a deeper black color



Onyx - TIP: You can tell Onyx from Obsidian by its white, straight, parallel lines. These lines should NOT be wavy. A red/orange variety of Onyx is Sardonyx. It has the same white, straight, parallel lines on a red/orange background.



Fluorite



Blue Quartz



Orbicular Jasper

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Picture Jasper



Brecciated Jasper



Carnelian Agate? Not sure on this one.

[Echo_of_shadows]

Thanks for sharing your pictures.
A couple of these look like the stones that I got as souvenirs from the Smithsonian museum when I was in high school. I never bothered to identify them, so I'll keep your posts in mind when I attempt to do so.
Your Unakite looks pretty. It reminds me of a green 20-sided die that I use for role playing.

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Thanks for sharing your pictures.
A couple of these look like the stones that I got as souvenirs from the Smithsonian museum when I was in high school. I never bothered to identify them, so I'll keep your posts in mind when I attempt to do so.
Your Unakite looks pretty. It reminds me of a green 20-sided die that I use for role playing.

Hey, I'm no expert okay? Just wanted to clarify that haha. I enjoy naming them and some of these stones I'm still not sure of until now

You are very fortunate to have the opportunity to get such lovely crystals as souvenirs I certainly hope this post will help you identify some of them. And yes the Unakite I have does has a nice cut It's the only one I got too. A 20-sided dice? That's a lot! How big was it?

[Echo_of_shadows]

Hey, I'm no expert okay? Just wanted to clarify that haha. I enjoy naming them and some of these stones I'm still not sure of until now

I don't have any books with pictures to help identify my stones, so you've given me a good starting point.
The 20-sided dice are about an inch in diameter. I'm guessing, but it's probably about the size of your Unakite. The cut of the Unakite looks like it would feel nice to roll around in the palms of your hands.

[MistressOfTheMoon]

Hey, I'm no expert okay? Just wanted to clarify that haha. I enjoy naming them and some of these stones I'm still not sure of until now

I don't have any books with pictures to help identify my stones, so you've given me a good starting point.

Oh but I have just one book and it was rarely any help! Here. These are some of the websites I visit for reference

http://crystal-cure.com/gemstones.html

http://www.minerals.net/GemStoneMain.aspx

http://www.shimmerlings.com/gemstone/ge ... _color.htm

http://www.gemhut.com/gemidx.htm

http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/gemstone-list.php

http://www.quartzpage.de/eyes.html

Hope these can help you too!

The 20-sided dice are about an inch in diameter. I'm guessing, but it's probably about the size of your Unakite. The cut of the Unakite looks like it would feel nice to roll around in the palms of your hands.

Ooooh. You are definitely right on that one! Now that you mention it I feel like rolling it in my palm lol.

[Echo_of_shadows]

I glanced at a couple of the websites you listed and I gotta admit that I drooled a bit.
I seen some stones that I haven't heard of like Uvarovite, Prehnite and Spodumene.
http://www.shimmerlings.com/gemstone/ge ... _color.htm will be helpful to me because I'm working on pages for my BOS that are collages of gem & jewelry pictures.

[MistressOfTheMoon]

I glanced at a couple of the websites you listed and I gotta admit that I drooled a bit.
I seen some stones that I haven't heard of like Uvarovite, Prehnite and Spodumene.
http://www.shimmerlings.com/gemstone/ge ... _color.htm will be helpful to me because I'm working on pages for my BOS that are collages of gem & jewelry pictures.

I bet your BOS will be lovely with photos of those crystals! Have you started on it?

Yeah. There are a lot of lovely crystals on those sites. And many of which, are not part of my own collection! Lol.

[Echo_of_shadows]

I've got 4 pages so far. Each page is dedicated to a different color. I've got rainbow, blue, green and diamond pages. I use pictures cut from catalogues and fancy magazines. "Town and Country" magazine always has amazing gem and jewelry pictures.