Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

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

Carnelian

A warm orange-to-red variety of chalcedony quartz colored by iron oxide, used since antiquity for seals, beads, and cabochons.

A waxy, translucent microcrystalline form of quartz that serves as the parent group for agate, jasper, carnelian, and onyx.

A brownish-red to deep brown variety of chalcedony, closely related to carnelian but darker, colored by iron oxides.

A warmly colored chalcedony agate with reds, oranges, golds, and pinks that blend like the glowing bands of a sunset sky.

A red-toned banded chalcedony colored by iron oxides, ranging from natural carnelian-like reds to heat-treated stones.

A fractured and re-cemented agate whose angular broken bands resemble crumbling walls and ruined cityscapes when polished.

A solid jet-black chalcedony, usually a dyed and treated agate, prized for sleek polished beads, cabochons, and intaglios.

An opaque yellow-to-golden variety of jasper, an iron-stained microcrystalline quartz prized for warm color and durable polish.

A chalcedony agate marked by round, concentric ring patterns that resemble eyes when cut and polished.

A prized Mexican jasper known for pastel green, lavender, and cream orbicular patterns that take an exceptional polish.