A feldspar that displays flashing colors known as labradorescence.

Afghan Lapis Lazuli is a metamorphic rock dominated by lazurite with calcite and pyrite. It has a deep ultramarine blue, light blue streak, hardness 5–5.5 Mohs, and SG ~2.7–2.9. Found in Sar-e-Sang, Afghanistan, it has been mined for over 6,000 years and historically valued for jewelry and as the source of ultramarine pigment.

Chilean Lapis Lazuli (Flor de los Andes, Ovalle, Chile) is a lazurite-rich metamorphic rock with more calcite and diopside than Afghan lapis, giving it a lighter, patchier blue with occasional green and minimal pyrite. It has a light blue streak, hardness 5–5.5 Mohs, and SG ~2.7–2.9. Although considered lower grade than Afghan material, it is important as Chile’s national stone and is widely used for carvings, ornaments, and decorative slabs.

Lazurite is a mineral of both aesthetic and historical importance, with its rich blue color contributing to the renowned beauty of lapis lazuli.

An Iron Pyrite pseudomorph

Due to its high iron content, magnetite has long been a major iron ore, and is responsible for humans discovering magnetism, and the creation of the compass.

A botryoidal form of the copper or Malachite.

A fibrous form of the copper ore Malachite.

A Manganese Nodule believed to create "dark oxygen" from the Schmidt collection.

If you think this is Iron Pyrite, you are wrong! It is a polymorph of Iron Pyrite.

A rare, uranium bearing mineral.

Andradite is a species of the Garnet group.

Metatorbernite is a rare, radioactive mineral that belongs to the uranium and phosphate mineral group.

A potassium aluminosilicate with minor amounts of sodium.

A lead arsenate chloride mineral, that frequently takes on the shape of other minerals.

Moldavite is a rare green tektite—a natural glass formed when a large meteorite impacts the Earth, melts the target rock, and ejects droplets of molten material that cool while flying through the atmosphere.

Similar in appearance and feel to graphite, molybdenite has a lubricating effect that is a consequence of its layered structure.

Mookaite Jasper is a silicified radiolarian sedimentary rock (chalcedony) from Mooka Creek, Western Australia, composed mainly of SiO₂ with iron oxide colorants. It has a white streak, hardness 6.5–7 Mohs, SG ~2.6, no cleavage, and a conchoidal fracture. Its earthy reds, yellows, creams, and purples make it highly prized in lapidary and decorative uses, and it is unique to Australia.

While called “jasper,” it is technically a silicified mudstone, not a pure jasper formed only from quartz replacement — but because it’s cryptocrystalline SiO₂ with iron-based coloring, it’s classified and marketed as a jasper.

The original deposits were found along the coast and could only be mined at low tide. This gave the stone mystique in the lapidary world. Later inland deposits were discovered, but the stone remains exclusive to Madagascar.

Orpiment is a fascinating mineral with a striking golden-yellow to orange-yellow color. It is a sulfide mineral composed of arsenic trisulfide and is quite toxic.

A fossil of an extinct nautiloid.

A uranium bearing pegmatite.

A calcium uranyl hydrated phosphate uranium bearing mineral.

“Picture Jasper” describes jasper varieties that show scenic, landscape-like banding or color patterns resembling desert horizons, mountains, or skies. Idaho has some of the most famous examples.

Unlike Ocean Jasper (orbicular), Polychrome Jasper is recognized for its flowing, painterly bands of many colors — hence “polychrome.” It’s unique to Madagascar, making it both geologically and commercially distinct.

Prehnite is a beautiful and relatively uncommon mineral that’s often appreciated by rockhounds, collectors, and crystal enthusiasts alike.

The only natural rock, that floats on water.

Pyrolusite is a mineral consisting essentially of manganese dioxide and is important as an ore of manganese.

A mineral species composed of lead chlorophosphate, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an ore of lead.

One of the most common minerals found throughout the globe.

The brookite is a long, bladed crystal that is mildly translucent and amber-brown with backlighting.

Chlorite in quartz refers to the presence of green chlorite mineral inclusions within a quartz crystal.

Firefly Quartz (also called Firefly Petroleum Quartz or Madagascar Firefly Quartz) is a trade name for a type of petroleum-included quartz from Madagascar.

A brownish grey variety of quartz.

Aura quartz is not a naturally occurring mineral. It is natural clear quartz (SiO₂) that has been permanently coated with metal vapors in a high-heat vacuum chamber. This process creates intense metallic rainbow colors on the surface of the quartz.

Rainbow Jasper is not a single locality-specific jasper, but rather a descriptive name for richly banded, multicolored jasper. It stands out for its earthy rainbow of stripes compared to the orbicular Ocean Jasper or the scenic Picture Jaspers.

Attractive red rhyolite is cut and polished into cabochons, spheres, and carvings. Some named varieties (like Leopard Skin Rhyolite or Rainforest Rhyolite) are popular with collectors.

An oxide mineral comprised of titanium dioxide.

An oxide mineral comprised of titanium dioxide.

A secondary uranium mineral occurring in oxidized zones of uranium deposits.

The name comes from the “sarape” (or “serape”) — a traditional Mexican blanket or textile — because the stone’s banding and color patterns are said to resemble the stripes, color combinations, or woven look of these blankets.

The jet-black of schorl prisms contrasts sharply with the light-colored feldspar (often creamy or off-white) and the flaky, silvery-to-light mica sheen of muscovite. This makes these specimens visually striking — prized as “showpieces” in mineral collections.

Septarian, correctly known as a septarian nodule or concretion is a fossilized mud ball filled with soft minerals.

Septarian, correctly known as a septarian nodule or concretion is a fossilized mud ball filled with soft minerals.

Septarian, correctly known as a septarian nodule or concretion is a fossilized mud ball filled with soft minerals.

Septarian, correctly known as a septarian nodule or concretion is a fossilized mud ball filled with soft minerals.

Septarian, correctly known as a septarian nodule or concretion is a fossilized mud ball filled with soft minerals.

Shattuckite is a relatively rare copper silicate mineral. It was first discovered in 1915 in the copper mines of Bisbee, Arizona

Siderite is a common iron carbonate mineral, It is primarily composed of iron, carbon, and oxygen.