Stone Beads — “Gemmy” Stones, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Amethyst …

Ah, yes. Semi-precious gemstone beads. Gotta love 'em, gotta have 'em.

Quartz crystal, also known as "Rock Crystal" - a colourless transparent stone - origin of the term "rhinestone." Small, tumbled quartz stones were found in the bed of the river Rhine and initially thought to be diamonds. When it became apparent that these stones did not have the hardness of diamond, but were a passable simulation, the term "rhinestone" came to be synonymous with "imitation diamond."

Amethyst is the purple variation of Quartz, and Citrine is the amber-yellow colouring of it - the colour is determined by the minerals present in the stone when it it being formed. For instance, the iron and aluminum give the purple colour to Amethyst. (There is a fascinating article on Amethyst on Wikipedia). Citrine is generally heated Amethyst or Smokey Quartz - heating it changes it's colour. Citrine and Amethyst present in the same stone are known as "Ametrine."

We try to choose consistent stock, but the nature of natural stones is that there will be inconsistency between strands and between individual beads.