Rock Identifier

Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Cat's Eye Aquamarine

Aquamarine that shows a bright moving band of light, or cat's eye, caused by parallel needle-like inclusions when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone

Cat's Eye Opal

An opal cut to show chatoyancy, a sharp moving band of light like a cat's eye, usually in honey, green or yellow common opal.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Tourmaline

Tourmaline displaying chatoyancy, a moving band of light caused by parallel tube-like inclusions, when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone

Cat's Eye Labradorite

A labradorite feldspar cut to show a moving band of light (chatoyancy), sometimes combined with labradorescent color flashes.

gemstone

Cat's Eye Morganite

Pink beryl (morganite) that shows chatoyancy, a moving band of light, when cut as a cabochon, thanks to parallel tube inclusions.

gemstone

Cat's Eye Moonstone

A moonstone variety displaying a moving band of light (chatoyancy) across its surface in addition to the classic moonstone glow.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Beryl

Cat's Eye Beryl

Beryl displaying chatoyancy, a bright moving band of light, caused by parallel tube-like inclusions when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone

Cat's Eye Obsidian

Sheen obsidian cut so that aligned microscopic inclusions produce a single moving band of light, a cat's-eye effect.

igneous
Cat's Eye Green Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Green Tourmaline

Green tourmaline cut as a cabochon to show a sharp moving band of light (chatoyancy) caused by fine parallel inclusions.

gemstone
Cat's Eye Pink Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Pink Tourmaline

Pink tourmaline cut en cabochon to reveal a moving band of light, a phenomenal gem colored by manganese with parallel inclusions.

gemstone
Blue Quartz

Blue Quartz

A naturally blue quartz colored by tiny mineral inclusions such as dumortierite or scattered rutile and tourmaline fibers.

crystal
Tiger's Eye

Tiger's Eye

A golden-brown chatoyant quartz with a shimmering silky band of light, formed when quartz replaces fibrous crocidolite.

gemstone
Hawk's Eye

Hawk's Eye

The blue-grey relative of tiger's eye, a chatoyant quartz showing a shifting band of light like a bird of prey's eye.

gemstone

Bird's Eye Jasper

A microcrystalline quartz jasper marked by small concentric ring or eye patterns that resemble the eyes of birds.

mineral

Blue Obsidian

Blue-colored volcanic glass; genuine natural blue obsidian is very rare, while much blue obsidian on the market is manufactured glass.

crystal
Blue Jasper

Blue Jasper

An opaque blue variety of chalcedony jasper, less common than red or green forms, colored by mineral inclusions.

mineral
Dumortierite Quartz

Dumortierite Quartz

Quartz colored blue by inclusions of the mineral dumortierite, giving a denim-like blue ornamental stone harder than dumortierite alone.

gemstone
Blue Chalcedony

Blue Chalcedony

A translucent, soft blue variety of microcrystalline quartz whose color comes from light scattering through its fine structure.

mineral
Girasol Quartz

Girasol Quartz

A translucent milky quartz that shows a soft, floating blue-white glow when light passes through it.

crystal

Blue Line Jasper

A pale jasper crossed by distinctive blue-gray veins or lines, valued by lapidaries for its calm color contrast.

gemstone
Holley Blue Agate

Holley Blue Agate

A rare translucent lavender-blue agate from the Holley area of Oregon, prized for its soft purple-blue color.

gemstone

Owyhee Blue Jasper

A soft blue-gray jasper from the Owyhee region of Oregon and Idaho, prized for its rare, calming blue tones among earthy jaspers.

gemstone
Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl

An exceptionally hard beryllium aluminum oxide prized for golden hues, sharp cat's-eye effect, and the rare color-change alexandrite variety.

gemstone

Dragon Vein Agate

A treated chalcedony with a network of crackled veins, usually heated and dyed in vivid colors for affordable, eye-catching beads.

gemstone