Carnelian

The little orange gem with a big history.

Photo by Tiny Rituals on Unsplash

Let’s talk about a lesser known rock. You need to get to know carnelian. This little gem is beautiful and has been around long enough to tell some tales.

Carnelian is a variety of chalcedony, and is considered to be a semi-precious stone. I feel like calling it semi-precious is a little insulting though because carnelian has some precious looking color. Iron oxide within the gem causes it to appear in rich tones of orange to near reddish-brown. Carnelian can be totally translucent or semi-opaque.

Its color reminds me of a pumpkin spice latte. Did I say pumpkin spice latte? Jeez sorry, those things are everywhere, aren’t they? I meant to say carnelian is the color of an autumn sunset. Over the ages people have believed the gem to symbolize energy and warmth. Egyptians actually referred to carnelian as the sunset stone because of its deep orange colors. The hues of carnelian seem to look beautiful on most every skin color, which is an excellent trait for a gemstone to have.

The brighter and more reddish-orange colors of carnelian are more valuable. I wish that were true for humans, because I would be PRICELESS after a day in the sun at the beach. Size is also important, as large stones free of inclusions are also much more valuable. Again, why can these standards be applied to…