« Gems and fancy stones: their properties and uses »

Iridescent. Often colour enhanced, blue, red etc.

A name given to certain tektites; bits of glass of celestial origin (usually) found in desert regions such as the Anauroch. In the Realms it applies specifically to black tektite material.

Incidentally, recent scientific tests conclude tektites are of terrestrial origin, but are projectile terrestrial matter, likely thrown up into the atmosphere by meteoric impacts.

The finely textured but brilliant white form of Gypsum (plaster). It has ornamental uses for structure interiors in the Realms

Named for its colour, it is brown to to yellowish brown, the hues of old ales. More properly called Clinozoisite it is found in crystals and cut into faceted gems of handsome appearance.

A greenish form of Chrysoberyl which appears reddish under nonnatural lights (including wizard's light spells). This transparent gem is usually facet-cut and mounted as a pendant or earrings.

Alexandrites are used in producing items which provide good omens (such as luckstones, though many are used for lodestones as well).

A type of Quartz covered with dark brown wavy patterns, cut in slices or cabochon, and polished to bring forth the pattern

Fantasy stone used in TSR's AD&D's Forgotten Realms

Green to Green-blue

Yellow, cream brown or orange amorphous fossil resin

A golden, fossilized resin, usually tumbled smooth and cut cabochon. Amber is soft and brittle, and often used as a good luck charm to ward off diseases and plague. Some amber contains other preserved fossils, such as primitive plants and insects. These variants are valued much higher in the Realms. Amber pellets strung on thongs are used as a medium of trade by northern barbarians, but are graded among civilised men for their gem value.

Related to agates and other less valuable quartzes, amethysts are a deep purple hue and are normally facet-cut into brilliant gems. Amethysts are supposed to ward off drunkenness, and as such are usually used as ornaments for mugs and chalices, particularly those used my nobility. This ward is more superstition than truth

Pale lilac to deep purple.

Probably the most recognized variety of Quartz, Amethyst has long been loved for its wide range of purple hues. Lore says that when the maiden Amethyst was turned into crystal to protect her from Bacchus' tiger, the Greek god of wine was so contrite that he wept tears of wine over her frozen form, giving Amethyst quartz its lovely color. Even today, prelates in several religions wear the gem to offset any effects of communion wine, supporting the belief that Amethyst prevents intoxication.

Suggested as a gift for a sixth wedding anniversary, Amethyst is the February birthstone.

Andar is another name for Andalusite in the Realms. Andar is hard and durable, yielding translucent gems ("andars") that flash green-red or brown-red when properly faceted. Andar is found in crystal form (sometimes in streambed, waterworn pebbles) of small size, averaging 1/2" in diameter.

Fine pink coral suitable for use in jewellery, usually found in shallow tropical seas upon isolated reefs or atolls. It is delicate and easily shattered unless properly treated and mounted. In the Realms, it is slowly sun-baked on large flat rocks to drive off water and tiny animal life (dead from lack of water but still present in the coral) that otherwise would give it an offensive odour and reduce its value for adornment.

A hard, transparent form of beryl, blue-green in colour. Aquamarines are found throughout the north, where their hardness makes them suitable gems for the northern barbarian tribes.

The name by which Blue John (fluorspar) is known in the Realms.

A soft, fragile gem found naturally in clear, colourless crystalls. It is easily worked without special skill or tools but does not last long in normal use for adornment, and cannot be carved into delicate or intricate shapes without splitting.

A species of quartz containing numerous mica crystals.; these give a spangled appearance to such a stone when viewed from certain angles. Aventurine can be golden, medium to light green, and dark to pale blue in colour, and is used for tumbled gems, cabachons and ornamental inlays or carvings. It occurs in large deposits; 20 pound blocks are not uncommon. It is sometimes called "love stone".

A slightly rarer form of Malachite. This is a deep blue stone with opaque mottling in darker shades of blue, and is often smoothed from its irregular naural condition and used to ornament belts and rings.

Most colours, often dyed

This opaque stone is a waxy, smooth form of quartz with striated bands of brown, red, blue, and white stripes.

Used in ornamental stone, banded agate is also crushed and placed into sleeping draughts to insure a long and restful sleep (no modication to saving throws, if any, for such draughts).

Fantasy stone used in TSR's AD&D's Forgotten Realms

Family includes :

• Aquamarine
• Bixbite
• Emerald
• Goshenite
• Heliodor
• Morganite

Red

Used in TSR's Faerun world

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Dark green with red spots (Plasma with red spots)

A dark greenish gray variety of quartz flecked with red crstal impurities. Ninety percent of the bloodstones in the Realms come from the Vassa/Damara area, and most of those from a single mine which is manned by human, dwarf and gnome miners. Bloodstones are the chief export of this regain, and as a result are found throughout the Inner Sea lands. Bloodstones are usually cut cabochon with beveled edges, in smooth ovals. Uncut bloodstones are used as a trading currency along the Sword Coast, and are popular with mercenaries.

A transparent, pale blue crystal. Blue quartz in single, large crystals is sometimes heavily enchanted to produce Gems of Seeing but this is common only in ancient versions of this magical item.

A colloquial name for sodalite, which is rich blue in colour and soft and brittle in nature. Sometimes bluestone has veins of pink, white, cream, and yellow, and can be found in old and weathered rocky environements (such as the Dalering Mountains, the Storm Horns and the Thunder Peaks). It is usually cut cabochon (polished glassy smooth and curved, without facets) or tumbled in barrels of gravel and sand; very rarely it is hard enough to be cut in facets. It is sometimes called ditroite

The name by which Wulfenite is known. This material is extremely soft and fragile, but its tabular red or orange crystals yield small transparent faceted gems for use in ornamental gem-work (ie, gems on furniture inlays in areas that will not be handled, such as the begemmed spires atop the high back of a throne.)

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The common name in the Realms for what is known here as Stibiotantalite, a rare mineral which sometimes contains clear areas of reddish brown to honey-yellow hue which can be cut to yield small, hard, faceted gems.

A clear, reddish, orange or red-brown Chalcedony, also called Sard. Carnelian is tumbled smooth and cut cabochon.

It is also used as decoration on devices that offer protection from evil or from bodily harm.

Mostly white, but rare variations slip to gray or black, the more colorful variants of this translucent stone include carnelians, chrysoprase, and agates.

Chalcedony is usually cut cabochon and used in making devices that offer protection from undead.

A hard, translucent, green gem, usually facet-cut. Chrysoberyls are used in producing devices which provide protection against Magic Jar spells or other forms of possession, and in weapons designed to affect ghosts and similar creatures.

A translucent variety of Chalcedony, coloured blue-green to green by traces of copper. It is highly valued when of uniform colour and free of inclusions. (flaws of other minerals and impurities). Most specimums are tumbled for use as earrings and pendant stones; some are faceted for the same uses

A translucent chalcedony with an apple-green colour, chrysoprase is found throughout the Realms but its greatest concentration is in the Stormhorn Mountains of Cormyr, where it is called stormrock.

Chrysoprase is used in the creation of items which provide invisibility and is used to ornament rings of invisibility.

Pale yellow to dark orange.

Legend has it that Citrine protects against snake venom and evil thoughts.

A variety of quartz, Citrine was named after the French word for lemon, "citro", to describe its typical yellow color. Its more saturated hues range through rich golden yellow into deep, earthy brownish oranges known as "Madeira." Citrine was long misnamed "Spanish topaz" because of its color similarity to precious topaz. It is still offered as a low cost alternate to topaz for complementing earth-toned fashions. Unlike true topaz, Citrine is readily available and inexpensive even in very large sizes.

The designated gemstone for thirteenth wedding anniversaries, Citrine is also a popular optional birthstone for November.

(FR) Also called false topaz, this is a yellowish quartz. It cleaves well and it usually facet-cut in brilliant or marquise styles.

The exceptionally beautiful pale green variety of sphalerite (a rock called Zincblende or Blackjack). Clelophane yields transparent gems of green "flash" (colour-play reflection) of unusually large size. Faceted specimens up to three inches across have been known. Clelophane is, however, soft and fragile, and such gems wear quickly.

Formed by small plants and animals in the warm seas of the Realms (including the Sea of Fallen Stars), pink and crimson varieties are considered valuable enough to class as ornaments and be treated as gems. Coral is treated as Angel's Skin for drying and preparation.
In the South, powdered coral is used in preparing healing potions.

White, pink-dark red exoskeleton of sea plants.
Used to celebrate 35th Wedding anniversary

This is more rarely called Petalite. This rare mineral is found in crystals ranging from colourless to pink. It is fairly hard, brittle, and commonly has inclusions; when free of these impurities it can be faceted, but otherwise is cut cabochon.

Includes Rubies and Sapphire

A colloquial name for Psilomelane Chalcedony, a variety of chalcedony containing abundant, minute plumes of black manganese arranged in bands. These polish to a brilliant, metallic black. Crown od Silver is usually sliced and polished for inlays so as to best show the black bands, but can be tumbled or cut cabochon.

The common name for datolite in the Realms. It is cut into faceted gems of very pale yellowish green if of the fine variety. Massive datolite, coloured by copper and other minerals, in found in the form of warty nodules up to 10 inches in diameter. Such nodules range from white to red, reddish brown and orange (the most valuable gems will be orange), and are usually cut cabochon or sliced and polished for inlay work. Pink datolite is also called "sugar stone"

Colourless, grey, brown, yellow, blue, green or black, depending on impurities / inclusions.
Used to celebrate 60th Wedding anniversary

Black, brown with white / silver markings

A soft, brittle gemstone of vivid emerald-green hue. It is found in small, flawed crystals and yields only the smallest of faceted gems. Larger specimums are rare and command prices as more valuable variations.

Also know as Kyanite. It is abundant in the Realms, and is easily cleaved, but difficult to cut in facets without unintented splitting. It usually has many inclusions. Disthene is also found in crystals ranging in colour from dark blue to pale green; fine blue facet-grade crystals are the most prized (treat doubled-base-value versions of this stone as this fine blue variety).

Deep green
Used to celebrate 55th Wedding anniversary

Lucky May born - Emerald is your stone. There are two major considerations when observing Emeralds; one, is color. The more vibrant the green, the better. Historically, the finest Emeralds come from Columbia, more recently African Emeralds hit the market, rivaling the Colombian, but they now grow scarce. Brazilian Emeralds are flooding the market now, with their vibrant green. Subjectivity arises in the decision to have the green be slightly bluish or yellowish.

Secondly, clarity is considered; one should never expect Emeralds to be free of inclusions. Due to the way they form geologically, a "clean" Emeralds is a rarity, and extremely costly. It is for this reason, the French coined the term "Les Jardins", meaning "The Gardens", to refer to the ever present visible inclusions.

According to legend, wearing Emerald cured a range of problems, including low IQ, poor eyesight and infertility. It also enables the wearer to predict the future.

Emeralds are delicate, however, and should not be worn as a daily ring, but given the "preferred treatment" status. Virtually all Emeralds are impregnated with colorless oils to mask cracks and brighten their color. Occasionally, some are dyed to deepen the color

An abundant gem, cut in cabochons or facets. Its smallest crystals are clear, but larger crystals are progressively darker shades of red. A variety (known also as Piedmontite) can be cut into cabochons of a deep rose color.

A rare gemstone found in small, readily cleavable crystals ranging from colourless to pale yellow, vivid yellow, pale green, and blue, this last hue being the most prized (valuable crystals will be blue euclase).

A related form of Banded Agate, but instead of striated bands, the layers within the stone appear as concentric circles. These rings are gray, white, brown, grayish blue, and drab green. Like banded agates, these stones are often ground up and placed in sleeping draughts, though their effectiveness in these draughts are not known.

The name given to chalcedony which contains thin lines of iridescent goethite. When cut properly, the iridescence displays red, brown, gold and green hues, and the finest specimens are partly translucent - this allows the best display of colour (treat improved variations of this gem as the translucent variety.).

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the name by which Rhodizite is commonly known. It is an extremely rare gemstone found in small crystals or fragments used in lapidary work only when faceted gems can be cut from them.

Comes in clourless, yellow, blue, green, purple, pink, brown and black.   It is often banded different colours.

A soft readily cleavable gemstone occurring in many colours. If the rough gemstone is pale blue, green, yellow, purple, or (the rare, more valuable varieties) pink or red, or is physically small, it is usually cut into faceted gems. These are sometimes known as Cobra Stones. A massive, purple-and-white banded variety is used for carving (see the hardstone Archon).

Also known as Froststone. This is an agate with white markings which resemble frost patterns. It is rare and beautiful, and is usually tumbled and polished glassy smooth. A gemcutter of unusual skill can cut the fragile stone in facits without splitting, so that at each point where facets meet (such as in a polyhedron cut, the shape of a d20), a "snowflake" of white "frost" appears. Enchanted versions of these stones are often Luckstones. Lesser varieties are powdered and treated like other agates for draughts and potions.

A general class of crystals ranging from deep red to violet in colour. Garnets are normally isometric in shape, with 12 or 24 faces to a typical crystal, though 36 or 48-faced crystals have been found. Garnets are found in the Realms in metamorthic rocks, marbles, and granites, and are found in a number of locations throughout the North.


Garnet is not a single mineral, but rather a group of minerals known as the "Garnet group". All natural Garnets are complex silicates that differ in chemical composition, but have almost identical atomic structures. Garnets are not only red; they may be orange, yellow, brown, pale green, deep green, violet, purple, or even colorless. There are basically six major Garnet species; Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartine, Grossular, Andradite and Uvarovite.

Almandine today satisfies world demand for an inexpensive red gemstone. Almandine is the most common Garnet seen in jewelry.

Rhodolite is a Garnet with a chemical composition between pyrope and almandine. Its color is violet-red or purple, the hue sometimes resembling that of amethyst. Good rhodolite is scarce and expensive compared to most Garnets

A rare variety of obsidian, golden in colour and flecked with minute spangles. It is polished to a glassy, gleaming finish, usually tumbled so as to retain as much of the stone as possible. It is brittle but in the past was often used to ornament belts or shields. Chips of gold sheen were frequently used as a form of currency among mercenary encampments.

The name given to quartz with lines of gold-coloured Goethite (a rustlike impurity) imbedded in it, sometimes called Cacoxenite. The native quartz stone can be Citrine, Amethyst or Smoky Quartz - the goethite appears as brilliant yellow or gold fibers ot tufts that run in parallel lines. Goldline is tumbled or cut cabochon, and usually occurs naturally in pieces 2-3 inches in diameter. Sometimes larger slabs are found, but these rarely survive travel unbroken.

Colourless

The common name of Chlorastrolite, a gray-green variety of Pumpellyite, found in nodules of up to 3/4" diameter in solidified lava flows. It is soft and is usually cut cabochon; the finest quality greenstone can be polished to a glassy finish, and such stones are sometimes called Chlorastras.

Greenstones of exceptional size are made into greenstone amulets, but not all greenstone jewellery is so enchanted, and often a ruse is used involving nonmagical greenstones and Nystul's magic aura

Also called Hambergite, is rare, colorless, and fairly hard, yielding small, faceted gems. It is found in crystal (or fragmentary) form.

A deep yellow variety of golden beryl varying in hue from greenish yellow to reddish yellow and yielding large of medium-size faceted gems.

Brown red, black-steel grey

A shiny gray-black gem often cut in a baguette fashion (rectangular with beveled sides). Hematites are prized by fighters, and often used in magical periapts (both healing and foul rotting). They are not magical in nature, though they are particularly responsive to these enchantments.

Yellow to Green

Deep black Coral similar to angel's skin save for its solid color, also called night coral. It is used in jewelry as a polished twig or branch or material, or is cut cabochon.

Not ivory at all, but rather material from the beak of the Hornbill bird.

A milky (or white) quartz, it is often used in silver, cut either as plates or cabochon. The milkiness of the stone is caused by tiny droplets of water or carbon dioxide trapped in the crystals. There are also often grains of gold in hyaline.

A gemstone much favoured my sailors and aquatic races; it is a variety of opal that looks rather unattractive - opaque, of a frosty-white or ivory colour - when dry, but when soaked in water, it becomes transparent and iridescent, reflecting a rainvbow spectrum of colours like a prism.

Also known as Bronzite, this is usually cut cabochon. It is brown and opaque (sometimes reddish or greenish) and contains silvery spangles. It is rare in uncracked pieces larger than a half inch across, and as a result yields small gemstones.

Blue

The name by which Iolite (Cordierite) is commonly known. Nicknames include "violet stone," though its overall hue is usually blue. Iols are usually cut into the faceted gems to best display the stone's color change as it is viewed from different directions. Iols so viewed appear straw-yellow, blue and dark blue. Small, cut iols can be clear, but larger specimums usually contain silky inclusions of another substance, giving a star effect, or even trapped hematite crystals, which give the same rich golden flash of colour as in sunstones.

Blue, grey, brown-grey

A massive variety of agate much used in temples for effect; its vivid colours can only be seen when light shines through it.

The common name for Danburite, a hard, transparent gemstone that yields faceted gems of middling size. Irtios are pale yellow or colourless and are found naturally as crystals or waterworn pebbles in streambeds or gravel deposits.

From elephant tusks etc.
Used to celebrate 14th Wedding anniversary

The substance that provides the teeth of all mammals. When-ever the teeth or tusks are large enough, they can be used for carving - thus, it comes from the tusks of the elephant, the teeth of the hippopotamus, and the tusks of the walrus, narwhal and boar, and the teeth of the cachalot whale. Tiny quantities of fossil ivory (from prehistoric elephants, mastodons, and sabre-toothed tigers) can also be found here. Ivory also comes from other creatures such as behemoths, and umber hulks. Unicorn horns, it should be noted, are not used for ornamental carving, and command prices of thousands of gold pieces from alchemists. The price of ivory depends on its hardness, durability, its hue and any mottling of colours, and the shine or surface it can take. Prices depend on current preferences; what is valued highly in a particular place ot time can be extremely cheap elsewhere and elsewhen.

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Colourless, many shades of green, grey, brown

A class of stone including jadeite and nephrite. It appears tas an opaque, waxy mineral of light to dark green or white. As jade ages, it darkens further to become a rich brown. Jade is said to enhance mucial ability, and so is worn as a lucky stone by bards and other musicians in the Realms.

Dark to light green

A rare, red variety of Zircon much prized for its deep ruby luster. The name jargoon is often carelessly applied here to a large variety of gem minerals (as in "a cluster of jargoons, matey, with garnets as big as yer hand").

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An opaque quartz found in red, brown, yellow, green. Often with pictures resembling landscapes or seascapes

Very rare specimums are blue or have bands of blue against these colours.

Jasper is crushed and used in making potions and magical devices which protect against poison.

Jasper has been used in periapts of foul rotting and proof against poison

A deep black gem, this stone is a tough variant of bituminous coal which can be facet-cut and displayed either as a pendant or inset into a larger setting. Jet stones are often used as Magic Jars in old legends, and the popularity of these legends tends to make jet stones suspect when they are found today.

Fantasy stone used in TSR's AD&D's Forgotten Realms

A hard, rare, green or brown translucent gemstone that yields faceted gems up to medium size. It is usually found in streambed or ridge-pit gravel.

Pink to Violet

Dark grey with a play of colours when viewed from certain angles

Blues, white cream, browns

Named after the sorceress Laeral; the tears are soft, brittle, colourless crystals and crystal fragments of large size. The same gemstone is called Beryllonite elsewhere.

An opaque, dark blue stone with gold flecks. Incorrectly called lazurite in the South, lapis lazuli is usually carved cabovhon and polished to show off its gold impurities.

Crushed lapis lazuli is used in making poitions of Heroism and Super-heroism.

A soft stone, easily worked and widely used; it is also know as Apatite. Found in crystals, it yields attractive faceted gems of vivid yellow, green, yellow-green and (rarely) blue and purple. Large specimums of blue or purple command hih prices and are much used in necklaces, pendants, belts, and insets in gowns or cloaks.

Also known as fire marble, this is a rare, dark brown fossil marble variety containing small, iridescent opal-like snails (lumachella means "little snail").

Another name for Magnetite in the Realms; it is used in temples for its properties - i.e., a kneeling worshipper will find his ferrous metal weapons and accountrements adhering to the floor will a definite (but not overpowering) pull.

A specific type of Labradorite (a feldspar gemstone). Labradorite as a class of stones is pale to dark gray and has patches of coloured reflections. This "flash" is most commonly blue but can be of all shades. "Green flash" labradorite is called Lynx Eye in the Realms. It is usually cut cabochon and fractures easily, so that most of the stones are less than an inch in diameter.

A glassy brown version of Zircon which is found in crystals and provides large faceted gems. These are hard but easily chipped, and so are not used in rings or the like.

A green gem with striations of darker green. Malachite is related to the bluer azurite, and can usually cut cabochon.

Malachite is reputed to help prevent falls, and as such is often used ornamentally on devices like rings of feather falling.

Also called Calcite, it is widely used in the Realms for its beautiful colorations, ts ability to take a polish, and its abundance. It is extremely heavy, but is easily quarried in precise dimensions without fracture of wastage.

Sometimes known as Sepiolite, this is used in the Realms for small carvings and pipes. White and porous, it is light and can therefore be quarried and transported in large pieces without much equipment.

A vivid yellow variety of Zircon, found in large crystals which in the Realms are seldom cut, but rather possible as is and mounted in metal claw settings for rings, brooches and knife hilts. It is hard, and left in crystal form, resists chipping.

A feldspar gemstone usually tumbled or cut cabochon. It is deep green to blue-green, and it sometimes referred to here as "amazonstone." Microcline crystals cleave easily, so that finished stones may split if handled carelessly. Tiny cleavage cracks reflect light so that a polished microcline stone shimmers.

White

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White to blue sheen, grey, brown

An opaque, white feldspar gem polished to a blue sheen. Old legends say that the sight of a moonstonewould cause a lycanthrope to revent to his animal form. While this is untrue (in fact many lycanthropes wear moonstones), devices which affect lycanthropes often use moonstones in their construction and/or decoration. Moonstones are also used a material components for spell casting.

Iridescent linining of many shells, including oyster
White, silver to rose, blue sheen

Green with black inclusions which look like moss

Quartz agates with impurities of manganese, forming fernlike patterns that give this stone its name.

Moss agate can is pink to yellow-white, with gray-green markings. Moss agate, like other agates, can be displayed as a stone, or can be ground up and used in producting sleeping draughts and other potions.

The common mame for Smithsonite, a massive gemstone found in many hues (yellow, straw yellow, pale brown, reddish brown, green, blue, blue-green), as crystals or as crusts up to two inches thick in rock cavities. Mykaro is soft and tough when found as a crust, but brittle in crystal form. It is usually cut cabochon, particularly if it is patterned with thick bands of varying colours, but is sometimes faceted.

The name given to Phenakite, a hard, colourless, and rare gemstone that occurs in crystals, usually with inclusions so that it yields only small faceted gems.

Albite, a variety of feldspar. It is soft and fragile, but easily cut with crude tools. It is found in large amounts in older rocks. Nelvine is occassionaly called pigeon stone due to its white, cream, fawn, or brownsh pink colour. It exhibits a beautiful celestial-blue flash of iridescence, or play of reflected colour, known as peristerism

The common name for Staurolite (sometimes called "cross stone" or "fairy stone") in the Realms. Nune is translucent brown or nearly clear, and occurs in small (up to 1 inch across) cross-shaped crystals, which are commonly polished to a smooth sheen and pierced to be worn as pendants or, linked, as bracelets. In the Realms, the cross is used as an ornament and not a holy symbol, and is often seen.

Grey, black, often with brown streaks (Mahogany)
or
Grey, black, often with white spots (Snowflake)

Also called natural glass or volcanic glass. Obsidian is hard, glossy, and black, and it volcanic in origin. It is often chipped into arrowheads or larger chunks used as weapons, but the ornamental grade of stone is usually polished and smoothed. An inferior form of obsidian (decreased value) is called pitchstone, and is both duller and rougher than volcanic glass. Obsidian is also used in carved figures and figurines, including the magical obsidian steed

The more common name for Scheelite in the Realms; it occurs in soft crystals which yield sparkling faceted gems of pale yellow or orange hue. Large irregular crystals are often used for carven pendants or inlays.

An opaque Agate of black or white, or bands of both colours in straight lines. The stone carves and wears well.

In addition to gems, it is often used for figurines (including the magic Onyx dog.

A quartz variety which occurs in minute spherules. It is solid brown in colour, and it very similar to wave-patterned algae. Too small (commonly up to 1/16" diameter) to be cut, oolite spherules are usually polished to bring out the colour and mounted in silver jewelry (particularly tiaras or pectorals'

white, orange-red, grey, blue, black

There are more than a dozen varieties of fiery and iridescent Opals. Its tremendous color spectrum is the major reason for the Opal's mysterious attractiveness. Opal has either a light or dark body color with vivid flashes of many different colors, created by imperceptible inclusions. Opal is silica oxide, with a varied amount of water in its structure. Opal is made distinctive by this unique play of color, or fire. Opals are also found in opaque to translucent colors such as orange, yellow and green.

Few descriptions are adequate to describe the finest Opals. Fireflies, rainbow lightening and the aurora borealis, just can not describe the unique beauty found in Opals.

In medieval times, all blond maidens wanted a necklace of Opals because it was believed to prevent their hair from fading or darkening. The Opal was also thought to make a person invisible whenever he wishes, and allegedly had a beneficial effect on eyesight.

The ancient Romans believed Opal was the king of gems and was also identified with hope. Senator Nonius had one coveted by Marc Anthony. Nonius, forced to choose either giving up the gem or exile from Rome chose the latter.

In 1817, when Sir Walter Scott published his popular book, "Ann of Geierstein", Opal was associated with an unfortunate heroine and became a symbol of misfortune, an association which hurt its popularity.

Later, when Opal devotee Queen Victoria took to giving this gem as a wedding gift to her daughters, it made an impressive comeback. Opal is the October birthstone.

Opal is a delicate stone. It should be set in a mounting that gives it protection and, as always with fine gemstones, with proper care an Opal will last a long time. An Opal may spontaneously develop a network of fine internal cracks called crazing. Some say soaking or storing Opals in water or mineral oil may prevent this. Opal jewelry is best cleaned by a professional. If home cleaning is necessary, just wipe with a soft cloth. Do not use jewelry cleaners or an ultra-sonic machine. Protect from sharp blows, and extreme temperature changes.

The Realms name for Axinite, also called "glass stone" or, if violet in hue Yanolite. It is commonly brown in colour - such a vivid brown that large crystals appear almost opaque. Ophealine is cut in facets, and although not possessing one of the most attractive gemstone hues, it can yield finished gemstones of considerable size, both hard and durable. On the streets of Waterdeep, such gems were once known as "knuckle stones;" when polished and mounted on rings, their sharp edges have laid open many a noble's or thief's face at many a drunken party.

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Fantasy stone used in TSR's AD&D's Forgotten Realms

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The common name in the Realms for Pollucite, a briitle, colourless or faintly straw-yellow gemstone of medium hardness. Orprase s found as clear areas in fragments of rock and yields faceted gemstones of small to middling size.

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Used to celebrate 30th Wedding anniversary

Yellow-green to olive-green, brown.

Sometimes called "olivine", Peridot's subtle and scintillating green tones range from pale yellowish green into a pleasant olive green. The Romans called Peridot "evening emerald" since its green appears to be more intense in reduced light.

Mystics claimed that Peridot drove away evil spirits. This property was said to increase by setting the gemstone in gold. Carved into a goblet, it heightened the power of any medicine drunk from it. Hawaiian legend names Peridot as the tears of "Pele", the islands' volcano goddess.

Today, the largest and finest stones come from Burma, while the majority of smaller fine gems are mined on the desert Indian reservations of Arizona. The traditional birthstone for August, Peridot may also be used to mark the sixteenth wedding anniversary

The name by which Rhodonite is best known in the Realms. This gemstone is found in crystals or in massive deposits cut into slabs (the fragments thus tumbled into gems). It is rose-red or pink in colour, and yields attactive faceted stones. It is related to Rhodochrosite.

A soft, easily carved brown to red-hued carving stone. It is also called Catlinite.

Dark green

Another name for Lepidolite It is a soft pink to mauva mica rock used in low-priced carvings. With time its colours fade.

Crystaline Quartz :

• Amethyst
• Citrine
• Dumortierite
• Green Aventurine
• Milky quartz
• Rock Quartz
• Rose Quartz
• Smoky Quartz

Cryptocrystalline Quartz :

• Banded Agate
• Bloodstone
• Carnelian
• Chalcedony
• Chrysoprase
• Dinosaur Bone
• Jasper
• Lace Agate
• Moss Agate
• Onyx
• Petrified Wood
• Plasma
• Scenic agate

Quartz - with inclusions :

• Rutilated
• Tigereye
• Tourmalinated

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An obsidian variety in which all colors save yellow are included in the black or gray base. sometimes in pronounced bands. These may or may not have spangles, but are usually tumbled into irregular gemstones in either case. Like other obsidian, raindow is hard but brittle, and rarely finds use in laces that will recieve some wear.

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Pale pink to deep red, brown

A translucent, pink stone with a glassy lustre. Rhodochrosite is usually tumbled smooth and polished, displayed in pendants and rings.

Pink, red, brown

Cream ground with darker red-brown, black orbicular patterning

Clear, transparent stones which are generally softer and less wear resistant than higher-priced gems.

Their chief use is as spell components which call for a gem of a particulary value without dictating the type of gem to be used. Rock crystals of particularly fine grade, lacking any impurities, are used for optics and prisms.

Fantasy stone used in TSR's AD&D's Forgotten Realms

Also known as Unionite, Thulite or pink Zoisite. This is a stone found in massive, soft qualitities (usually cut in 1 pound blocks for trading, and later cut cabochon), or in harder crystals of vivid trichroism (three colours in the gems, often purple, blue, and red, or purple, green, and red). The trichoism is cut in facets. Large crystals of this latter variety have brought higher prices when turned to brooches and rings adorned with rosaline (treat as higher value stone).

Pink and Red

Shades of red
Used to celebrate 40th Wedding anniversary

Due to the way Rubies are formed geologically, a stone free of inclusions is a rarity. Mother nature is rarely perfect, and the inclusions become her signature. A Gemologist can use these inclusions to detect a natural Ruby from a synthetic (man-made). Synthetic Rubies have been made since the turn of the century, and seen often in antique jewelry.

The Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, which when found in any other color is called sapphire. Lore has it that when Ruby is worn on the left side of the body, the wearer will have success in controversies, disputes or wars. (bringing peace to the wearer) In India, those who donated Rubies to honor Krishna were almost assured of being reborn an emperor. It was said that a person should never ignore a Ruby, for it would grow dull if slighted or not worn or seen. Ivan the Terrible of Russia stated that the Ruby was good for the heart, brain and memory and that it purified the blood.

Gold, red, silvery

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A variety of Chalcedony with numerous straight, needle-like inclusions of a different colour (usually ivory or yellow with brown or greenish black needles). The needles often radiate, starlike, from a common center. Saganite occurs in large deposits and is often sold in fist sized (or larger) chunks. In Amn, one may hear two tradesmen discussing the sale price of a "fist of saganite". Saganite is sometimes called the "needle stone", "love stone" or "hairstone".

A feldspar gemstone, pale tan to straw yellow in colour, found on the surface of gravel screes or sand dunes. It is cut into faceted gems of ring-stone size or smaller, and is a favourite of nomadic desert peoples.

A hard and heavy, velvet-black rare-earth mineral with a metallic luster, cut cabochon for mourning gems or black ceremonial finery in the Realms.

Pure rich blue is the color usually associated with Sapphire. Corundum, commonly known as Sapphire, not only appears in shades of blues, but also in every color. When Corundum is red they are referred to as Rubies. The finest blue Sapphires have a velvety appearance in a medium blue with a slight tinge of violet. These, and fine pink, orange and lavender Sapphires are rare and costly.

The Persians thought the sky owed its blue color to light from a Sapphire on which the earth rested. Some ancient writers claimed that the Ten Commandments were written on Sapphire. In the 12th Century, the Bishop of Rennes admired Sapphire and started the long history of the use of this gem in church regalia. Sapphire was reported to be an excellent all-purpose medicine. It was an antidote against poison, eye disorders and, when powdered, had an ability to stop bleeding.

Marriage partners often had great faith in Sapphire. If its luster dimmed, one knew their spouse had been unfaithful. Sapphire refused to shine when worn by the wicked or impure. Sapphires were believed to attract divine favor to their owners. A gem could preserve its wearer from envy, protect against captivity, and serve as a key to understanding the oracles. Sapphire was considered to be so powerful that it protected the original owner even after being sold. Sapphire is the gem of autumn, and of the soul as well as birthstone for September.

Used to celebrate 45th Wedding anniversary

This stone bears a wide variety of alternate names : Thomsonite, Lintonite, Comptonite, Ozakite, eye stone or fire rock. It is found in small (up to 1" diameter) nodules in cavities in rocks formed during volcanic eruptions, is fibrous, and therefore both tough and soft. It is basically grayish green in colour, but is sometimes beautifully coloured with rings of pink, red, white and green

A form of onyx with alternate bands of carnelian in a red and white attern.

It is used in spells and creating magical items which affect Wisdom.

The sparkling variety of Gypsum, also known as "feather gypsum", used in gemstone carvings. It is very soft but accepts a good polish. Satin spar is naturally white, pink, pale orange, or pale brown, buy can be dyed to almost and solid hue. (This process, however, kills its sparkle).

The name by which the finest Scapolite is known, which yields pale to medium yellow faceted gems. Found in rough crystal form, scapra is somewhat soft, lending itself to easy cutting by the unskilled - but proving unsuitable for the wear and tear of use as clothing ornamentation or in ring stones.

The name refers to a wide variety of minerals known as Williamsite, Ricolite, Verde-antique, Picrolite, Taxolite, Bowenite or "poor mans jade." Those varieties used extensively for carving are traded as serpentine stone. we are concerned with the finest translucent, vivid pure green Williamsite, which is cut into faceted gems or cabochons. in the Realms, sepentine of this type is widely used in cabochon form, set into ornamented weaponry and harness, rings, and courtly jewelry of all types.

White, yellow, green, red, brown

With carbonates - Connemara Marble

The name by which Verde Antique is known in the Realms. The massive variety of Serpentine.

Another name for Natrolite in the Realms; its slender, colorless crystals yield tiny faceted gems used often in veils and robes to capture the effect of beads of water glistening upon the material. Such gems will fetch their true value only when sold to gemcutters and others familiar with them - they are too small (and colorless) to impress the eye of the uninitiated.

Another name for Novaculuite a quartz variety that occurs in various colours. Commonly quarried as a gritty sharpening stone, it it sometimes fine enough for gemstone use, cut cabochon. It is difficult to polish to a high lustre, but can yield large stones.

A variety of Obsidian which has many minute, spangly inclusions, ranging in colour from mahogany to silver and gold ( the most valueable of these, gold sheen, is a semi-precious stone). Sheen is usually tumbled (if large and attractive) or cut cabochon and can be polished to a glossy gleaming finish.

A Quartz gemstone, a special, fibrous variety of tiger eye which hasd a faint sparkle. It is found in many colours, yellow being the most abundant, and is cut cabochon, tumbled or used for engraved gems. As tiger eye, silkstone is worn as protection from spirits, though this is more old-wives tale than fact.

A rare stone, found only in streambed gravels (or the deposits left by vanished streams) as pale straw-yellow to yellow-brown waterworn pebbles. It yields cabochon gems up to an inch in diameter.

The common name given to clear or lightly coloured tektite material; fragments of glass of celestrial (meteoric) origin, found in the shifting sands of Anauroch and other deserts. Such stones are usually buffed and polished to sparkling clarity and fixed in claw mounts as pendants or teardrop earrings.

Also called Cairngorm or "moorland topaz", and ranges from a gritty yellow to brown or black in colour.

As a black gem, it is called Morion and used by necromancers. It is usually facet-cut in a brilliant form.

Grey, black, often with white spots

An obsidian variety found in the Realms in large deposits (of volcanic origin). It is black with gray-ish flowerlike patches that often, especially if some of the stone can be cut away, radiate symmetrically, resembling snowflakes. It is brittle and weak, but often used for small carvings. It is either tumbled to gemstone form for sale, or sold in "trade blocks" (large irregular chunks, as quarried) of up to 25lbs.

Too brittle ans soft for fine carving, this is easily worked by unskilled hands and can be quickly brought to a warm, glossy finish.

White, yellow, green, red, brown

With carbonates - Connemara Marble

Green, red, blue, violet...

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Forms include :
Hiddenite - Yellow to Green
and
Kunzite - Pink to Violet

A hard and quite durable stone, also know as Kinzite (in its pink to purple varieties) and Hiddenite (in emerald green). It is readily cleaved, cut into faceted gems often of great size, but the kunzite variety suffers from a strange condition. Its colour fades with the passage of time to a pale shadow of its former self. Such variants are called "ghost-stones".

The most prized form of a hard, durable gemstone that is rarely found in attractive colours. It is usually too dark in colour for beauty, but mountain and stream-bed pebble cystals of pale green hue produce attractive semi-precious stones.

A few specimens of darker green become four or six-rayed stars when cut, and these are rated at the higher values for gem variation.

Meteroric nickel-iron with trace elements

Another name for meteorite, this stone is rare. Smiths in the Realms have mastered the techique of forging it (adding small amounts of alloys of more common metals) to make weapons of great strength and durability; hence the material's high price. Tiny pieces are sometimes sliced and polished for inlay work.

A smoky, rose quartz (pale to deep pink) which is asteriated; that is, when cut, it reflects or transmits light in a star-like pattern. Star rose quartz is used as a centerpiece for modest jewelry and in some magical spells as well.

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Shades of purple, black

The name by which Argillite (or haida stone) is more commonly known. It is widely used for inexpensve carvings. It is soft and gray, cleaving easily in planes, and is low-priced due to its hue and softness.

a Feldspar gem, closely related to moonstone, and more commonly known as Oligoclase. Sunstone can be colourless or faintly greenish and of facet grade, but most common by far is its softer cabochon variety. This rarely yields gemstones more than 3/4" on diameter, and has bright red or orange spangles (minutes crystals) suspended in a nearly colourless background in parallel fashion, giving the whole a rich golden or reddish brown colour.

A opal-like silica found in the joints of certain types of bamboo. It is irregular in shape and is usually tumbled and buffed to a velvet-smooth finish and worn as tiny stones on rings, or fringe stones on jewelled pectorals or shawls. It is more common in the South and often used by southern traders as barter among northern barbarian tribes.

The common name given to Aragonite, a straw-yellow gemstone found in elongated, prism-shaped crystal form It is soft and fragile, and requires skilled cutting to yield faceted gems. Cabochon-cut tchazar is much less valuable; gems re-valued as ornamental are of this type.

Black, brown, blue, green, red, cream

A form of quartz which we refer to as Petrified Wood; the silicified woods vary widely in hue (black or white through red, yellow, tawny, brown and sometimes pink), and, like the original wood, vary in size from twigs to huge logs. Some are difficult to polish because of differences in hardness across a tempskya surface, and most have fractures and inclusions of clear quartz, opal or chalcedony. Tempskya od pretty grain and hue is sometimes cut and polished cabochon for personal ornamentation, but usually is cut in flat slabs, polished, and fitted for inlay-work.

Also called Prehnite, this hard, tough gemstone varies in colour from rich green through pale greenish yellow and yellow to brown. It is translucent and is cut in facets if light-coloured, but otherwise cut cabochon. It is abundant in hardened lavas as crust lining gas cavities in the rock, but only rarely is this crust thick enough or colourful enough to be cut into gemstones.

A golden agate with dark brown striping which gives the stone its name. Legends state that the tiger eye is useful in repelling spirits.

While this is not true, the agate is ground and used both in preparing potions and in creative magical markings.

Used in TSR's Faerun setting

Colourless, yellow, green, blue, violet.

Deriving its name from the Sanskrit word meaning "fire", this November birthstone has long been believed to promote calm and faithfulness, to protect against enchantment and to cure insomnia.

Traditionally found in colors ranging from pale yellow to golden orange and deep red of the finest Topaz, this gemstone occasionally occurs in shades of pink and lavender.

Blue Topaz, occurring in colors from pale to deeply saturated hues is the gem to celebrate one's fourth anniversary. Imperial Topaz is a suitable gift to commemorate the twenty-third wedding anniversary

Long-crystalled tourmaline in it's multi-coloured varieties is considered a precious stone. The black variations are called Ravenar and considered gems. Colours vary from green to blue, brown, or red, all in pale shades. Often a crystal may show multiple shades and is known as rainbow tourmaline (and is more valuable).


Occurs in most colours from black to colourless, including:

• Dravite
• Elbaite
• Indicolite
• Rubellite
• Schorl
• Watermelon

Nature's rainbow is reflected in Tourmaline, a gem species with an unlimited range of colors. Tourmaline's spectrum also includes dual hues in a crystal or cut stone, called bi-colored gems. Tourmaline, meaning "mixed colored stones" was derived from the Singhalese word "tourmali".

First identified in the eighteenth century, lore says that Tourmalineaids against misfortune and protects travelers against falls.

Tourmalineis the Anniversary Stone for the eighth wedding celebration. Any of Tourmaline's many colors are an appropriate alternative for October birthdays.

Black, green, red

The name given to a pink variety of Tremolite called Hexagonite. Tremair is found in small, clear crystals which yield even smaller faceted gems.

Various shades of blue, green

An opaque aqua stone with darker mottlings, turquoise is found in the more acrid reaches of the realms. Specimums lacking impurities ae prized by Elves. Horsemen with often place a sliver of this stone in a horse's harness as a sign of good luck.

A type of agate (quartz) containing many small, silicified shells. The shells are conical and spiral in appearance, less than an inch long, and the rock is dark brown in colour. It is quarried in slabs and used in inlay work or for facings (as a cheap alternative to marble).

A stone which is prized in the Realms; soft but shatter-resistant, it can be easily worked by unskilled cutters into large cabochons or faceted gems of pale to rich yellow hue. It is also known as Amblygonite.

A translucent stone, deep to pale (yellowish) green, found in nodules or in rock saems. It is also known as Lucinite and Peganite here. It is cut cabochon, and (rarely) displays gray and yellow bands and eyes (rings) when so cut.

A purple variety of volcanic gem, found in patches mixed with other minerals. It is cut cabochen or faceted baguette, and occassionally yields stones of unusual size.

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Green, red in concentric bands in cross section

Rare in the Realms, waterstar is also called Achroite or colourless tourmaline. The only material of this stone valued for gem use is that entirely free of flaws and inclusions, which can yield quite large faceted gems, colourless but sparkling.

The stone known by this name is spiderweb obsidian here. Webstone is an obsididian variety in which small pieces of the stone have been cemented together by heat and great pressure in an irregular mass, the joints showing as irregular, weblike lines. It is usually black, the join lines sometimes showing white, but brown, reddish brown, and rust-red varieties have been found.

Occurs in large, fibrous deposits containing translucent areas large enough to yield faceted pale yellow to whitish gems, or, more rarely, in clusters of translucent yellowish crystals which are cut similarly.

A Rhyolite variety displaying bands of red, brown, tan, or purple. It occurs in large deposits, and can be cut into blocks of almost a cubic foot in size when quarried. It is typically cut cabochon, and takes a fair to good polish.

The name of this stone is a corruption of the odd term "wood tin", applied colloquially here to a variety of Casseiterite. It is found in large nodules, is brownish and fibrous, and is cut cabochon.

The common name for opalized wood or Lithoxyle; it is highly prized , and is usually fashioned into bookends, polished for collectors, and so on. In finer qualities it is often used for table inlays and personal adornment.

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Th name given in the Realms to Cerussite, an extremely soft, leadlike mineral, colorless and easily cut into brilliant faceted gems. It is usually mounted in ceremonial, little used jewelery, or set in small metal claw mounts into the sleeves or collar-hems of gowns because of its softness.

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The name given by sages to a particular facet-grade variety of Ziosite; a rare mineral that yields cut stones that flash three vivid hues depending on how the light catches them or in what direction they are viewed; purple, blue, and red, or purple, green and red. Very large (fist or foot-sized) specimums are sometimes found, and are prized for use in pendants by humans, demi-humans, and humanoids of large stature.

A brownish crystal found in igneous (volcanic) rocks. Zircon attains its pale blue shade with heating and cutting (usually facet-cut). Zircons are occasionally passed off as more valuable gemstones, though anyone with the slightest knowledge of gems (jeweler, dwarf, or even an adventurer of long standing) can identify the difference.

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NOTES

This is being written as an in depth game aid to TSR's "Forgotten Realms" roleplay world.

In particular, it was written with (the now closed) Faerun MUD in mind. At some point I may be updaing for the new MUD I'm playing on - Arantha

There are plenty of heavy duty sites out there that can do better than I have time for, some of which are linked to below.

However, unless other stated, all the details below are factual and accurate and may be used in other game worlds, or indeed in real life research.

NOTE

Some of the text from each entry below is taken verbatim from the now out of print*
FR Adventures and is whooly (c)1990 TSR, Inc.   :

AD&D Forgotten Realms Adventures (TSR 2106),   by Jeff Grubb & Ed Greenway
TSR Inc.   ISBN: 0-88038-828-5

* I believe it's still available in a tiny A6 reprint format.

HOWEVER, like many of TSR 'out of print' back catalogue, from Wizards of the Coast it can be bought as a PDQ file, the download fee being just $2.95 here

To see the this and the rest,  click here

These, and many others, can be found HERE


See also:

The following links may also aid your research: