Amazonite

Amazonite is microcline feldspar — silicate of potassium and aluminium, coloured turquoise to jade-green by traces of lead and a small amount of water caught within the crystal structure as it cooled, slowly, over millions of years. The Mohs hardness sits around 6 to 6.5, which makes it durable enough for daily wear but worth treating with a little care — it does not enjoy rough handling or ultrasonic cleaners. Deposits are found in Colorado, the Ural Mountains of Russia, Madagascar, Brazil and Mozambique.

The name is the first curious thing. It comes from the Amazon River, yet no significant Amazonite deposits exist along it — the name most likely attached to green stones that traders carried out of the region, and European mineralogists simply kept it. The stone is real; the etymology is a story about how stories travel.

The crystal tradition places Amazonite between two chakras: the heart, where it is said to hold a certain steadiness, and the throat, where the word that matters most is communication — the practice of finding clearer, calmer expression. Virgo claims it. The elements it sits alongside are Water and Earth. The intentions gathered around it are calm, communication, and the broad territory of healing and wellbeing.

The tradition's quiet invitation here is the same as it is for any stone: choose one, name an intention in plain words, and let it become a small, repeated practice. Keep Amazonite on a desk before a difficult conversation. Hold it for a moment before saying something that needs saying. The stone is the bookmark; the attention is yours.

In the catalogue you will find it as tumbled stones, rough pieces and set jewellery — each piece cut from natural material, so the shade of green varies from one to the next.