Moldavite

Hardness: 5-5.5 on the Mohs scale; Color: Bottle green to brownish-green; Luster: Vitreous (glassy); Crystal structure: Amorphous (lacks crystalline structure); Cleavage: None (conchoidal fracture); Specific Gravity: 2.32 - 2.38

Formed during a meteorite impact approximately 14.7 million years ago (Miocene epoch) in what is now Southern Germany. The immense heat and pressure of the impact melted terrestrial rocks, ejecting them into the atmosphere where they cooled rapidly into a glass before falling back to Earth. Found primarily in a strewn field across the Czech Republic.

Prized as a gemstone and for metaphysical purposes. It's often cut and polished into jewelry (pendants, rings, earrings). It is also collected as a natural curiosity due to its unique formation and rarity.

Moldavite is a member of the tektite group, which are natural glass objects formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. Its distinctive wrinkled or sculptured surface is due to atmospheric abrasion as it fell to Earth and subsequent erosion in its terrestrial environment. It is the only known tektite of gemstone quality.

Identify by its unique green color (from olive to brownish-green), its glassy luster, and, most distinctively, its often irregular, pitted, wrinkled, or sculptured surface. True moldavite from the Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia) is quite rare. Be wary of fakes, which are often smooth melted glass. Can be found in fluvial deposits in the Czech Republic, specifically the Bohemian Plateau. Genuine Moldavite will show internal bubbles and flow lines when examined under magnification.