Aventurine Properties, Facts and Photos
What is Aventurine?
Aventurine is a type of quartz that features minute inclusions of other minerals. The inclusions are often described as 'platy' in reference to their plate-like shape. They usually have a flaky appearance.
Mineral inclusions described as 'platy' are mostly mica or hematite. A glistening or spangled effect, correctly known as aventurescence, can be seen when light reflects off the inclusions.
Aventurescence is caused by sparkling internal reflections from microscopic inclusions of other minerals.
Although aventurine occurs in different colours, the most common are green, blue and shades of yellow/orange.
Green aventurine is caused by inclusions of fuchsite (fook~site). Pink, orange, red and brown varieties tend to come from pyrite, hematite or goethite (ger~tite).
The colour of blue aventurine comes mostly from muscovite.
The mineral aventurine is believed to have been named after the man-made material known as goldstone. Like aventurine, goldstone exhibits aventurescence.
Impurities in a mineral will often influence its colour. The intensity or extent of the colour change can vary depending on the concentration of the impurity.
The brownish-orange variety of goldstone is produced using colourless glass. The stone's colour comes from the inclusions of crystallised copper.
Most of the world's blue and green aventurine comes from India. Off-white, grey and yellowish-orange stones can be found in Chile, Spain and Russia. Aventurine in other colours is found in Brazil, Austria and Tanzania.
Although often referred to as a mineral, aventurine is a rock. It's a quartzite which is a metamorphic rock that started off as sandstone.
During the Stone Age, primitive tools were made of quartzite when flint was not available. Although not quite as easy to work with, quartzite is hard yet brittle which makes it relatively easy to shape.
Aventurine, which is also known as aventurine quartz, grades 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
Many articles online report aventurine was discovered by J.D. Dan in 1837, however, I can find nothing factual to support this.
J.D. Dan is likely to be James Dwight Dana [1813 - 1895], an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. Although he wrote about aventurine and sunstone, there is nothing to indicate that he discovered either of these minerals.
Healing Properties of Aventurine
Aventurine protects the heart chakra and helps balance male and female energies. A stone of positivity, it heals heartache and brings emotions back into alignment.
Aventurine can help improve decisiveness and strengthen leadership qualities. It's an excellent stone for diffusing angry situations.
It promotes empathy and compassion, stimulates perception and enhances creativity. When faced with anger and irritation, aventurine replaces these feelings with patience and understanding.
Aventurine can be used by crystal healers or those who help others. It offers protection from unwanted energies, prevents lethargy, and maintains a positive state of mind.
What Does Green Aventurine Do?
Green aventurine is a stone of communication that can help you express yourself more assertively but eloquently. Although great for career success, it also raises awareness about the importance of a healthy work-life balance.
Green aventurine encourages you to distance yourself from the manic pace of everyday life. It calms erratic thoughts and may help compulsive behaviour.
One of the great benefits of green aventurine is its ability to balance energy. When energy flows freely, you can deal with difficult matters in a calm and more logical manner.
Article Pictures
The rough green aventurine in the photo at the top of our article and the orange aventurine tumbled stones are from our collection.
The second piece of green aventurine is displayed in London's Natural History Museum. Photo by Stone Mania.
Images are clickable and redirect to the original photo.
Pop-up images: The goldstone and sunstone are from our collection. Hematite - The hematite, pyrite and muscovite - Courtesy of Stan Celestian.
