Four Gemstone Shapes - Epidote

• The colour runs from near-black forest green to lighter olive, with pale crystalline flecks scattered through the matrix like lichen on bark.
• Each shape shows the stone differently: the sphere catches the light evenly, the pyramid concentrates the colour at the apex, the obelisk reveals vertical striations, and the heart softens the angularity.
• The polish is high but not glassy, so the stone keeps a slightly waxy lustre rather than a mirror finish.
• They sit well together on a shelf, a desk or beside a meditation cushion, offering four facets of the same material in a small footprint.

Epidote is a calcium aluminium iron silicate that forms during the metamorphism of basalt and other iron-rich rocks, typically where hot fluids have altered the original mineral structure under pressure. Its name comes from the Greek epidosis, meaning 'addition', because one side of the crystal is always longer than the other. The green comes from iron, and the lighter inclusions are often quartz, feldspar or calcite caught in the matrix as the stone formed.

Each piece has been cut and polished to a standard lapidary form. The heart is palm-sized and gently domed; the sphere is near-round and sits on a flat base; the obelisk tapers to a blunt point; the pyramid has four equal faces meeting at the top. The shapes themselves have no geological significance but are the four most-requested cuts in modern crystal work, each offering a different way to hold or look at the stone.

Epidote forms in metamorphic environments, particularly in regions where volcanic rock has been subjected to low- to medium-grade metamorphism. It is commonly found in skarns, greenschist facies and hydrothermally altered zones. This set is sourced from India, where epidote occurs in association with quartz, garnet and actinolite in the Deccan Traps and Himalayan foothills.

Epidote has a Mohs hardness of six to seven, so it resists scratching from everyday contact but will mark if knocked against harder materials. Wipe it with a soft dry cloth. Store the pieces separately if you carry them, as the pyramid's edges can chip the sphere's polish.

Four polished epidote pieces: one heart, one sphere, one obelisk and one pyramid, each cut from a single piece of stone. The shapes vary slightly in size, as epidote's natural structure dictates the proportions the lapidary can achieve, but together they form a balanced set.

It suits someone building a crystal collection by shape rather than by variety, or anyone drawn to the quieter, earthier stones that don't shout for attention. The set also works as a small study in how cutting and polishing reveal different qualities in the same mineral.