metamorphic
Wishing Stone (Quartz Vein in Greywacke / Basalt)
Quartz vein in host rock (e.g. Meta-basalt or Greywacke)
Hardness: Host rock 5.5-6.5, Quartz vein 7; Color: Dark grey to charcoal host rock with a continuous white/cream quartz band; Luster: Dull to earthy on host rock, vitreous inside quartz vein; Texture: Fine-grained matrix cut by crystalline vein
- Hardness
- Host rock 5
- Luster
- Dull to earthy on host rock, vitreous inside quartz vein
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Physical properties
Hardness: Host rock 5.5-6.5, Quartz vein 7; Color: Dark grey to charcoal host rock with a continuous white/cream quartz band; Luster: Dull to earthy on host rock, vitreous inside quartz vein; Texture: Fine-grained matrix cut by crystalline vein
Formation & geological history
Formed when tectonic stress cracked the host rock, allowing hydrothermal fluids rich in dissolved silica (SiO2) to flow through and deposit quartz along the fracture, filling the gap completely. Over time, erosion rounded the pebble into a beach or river cobble.
Uses & applications
Popular in folklore as a 'Wishing Stone', landscape gardening, river stone decor, and as educational geological display specimens.
Geological facts
In folklore, a pebble with a single unbroken vein encircling it entirely is called a 'Wishing Stone'. Legend says if you trace the band with your thumb while making a wish, or throw it into water, the wish will come true.
Field identification & locations
Identify in the field by a distinct, unbroken lighter-colored mineral vein contrasting sharply against a darker fine-grained host pebble. Commonly found along rocky sea shores, gravel riverbeds, and glacial till.
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