Crystals from India

In Khambhat, in Gujarat, agate and carnelian have been drilled and polished since the time of the Indus civilisation: carnelian beads from this region have been found as far away as Mesopotamia, in tombs more than four thousand years old. The craft is still passed down from family to family.

Jaipur is the other great centre, cutting stones from all over the world. Southern India supplies moonstone, often more colourful (peach, grey, rainbow) than Sri Lankan stone, and green aventurine is mined there in large quantities.

Commercial carnelian is often agate heated to deepen its orange, a practice known since antiquity. Black onyx is almost always dyed chalcedony: that is normal and harmless, but it explains why its beads are so even. Moonstone is soft for a gem (6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale) and dislikes knocks against hard surfaces.