Quick Specs
- Material: Amazonite (green microcline feldspar)
- Quantity: 1 lb lot of tumbled stones
- Stone Size: 15-40mm (about 0.6 to 1.6 inches)
- Finish: Tumbled and polished
- Color: Pale mint to aqua-green with white and cream patches
- Grade: Sold as A quality
- Mohs Hardness: 6 to 6.5
Amazonite: Green Feldspar With White Veining
Amazonite is the green to blue-green variety of microcline, a potassium feldspar with the formula KAlSi3O8. It rates 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, a little softer than quartz, and it has perfect cleavage in two directions that meet near right angles. Research since the 1980s links its color to small amounts of lead and water within the feldspar, and white streaking is common, which gives many stones a marbled look. The name points to the Amazon River, where green stones were once believed to originate, although no amazonite deposits are known there. Today the mineral comes from many places, among them Russia, Colorado, Brazil and Madagascar, and its best crystals grow in pegmatites and veins. People have used amazonite for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians made amulets and carved objects from it, and a scarab ring of amazonite was found among the treasures of Tutankhamun. Jewelers cut it into cabochons and beads, though its softness leads jewelry guides to favor pendants and earrings over rings, and lapidaries tumble it into smooth stones like these. Collectors prize its crystal clusters, especially those from Teller County, Colorado.
This lot holds stones from 15 to 40mm, about 0.6 to 1.6 inches, so a pound mixes slim pebbles with chunkier pieces. The colors run from pale mint and seafoam to a deeper aqua-green, and many stones carry white veining or cream patches, with a faint yellow tint on a few. The shapes are irregular and flat-sided with softened edges, and each surface has a glossy polish. Tumbling does that work: the stones turn in a barrel with abrasive grit that grinds away sharp corners, then finer grits and a polishing powder bring up the shine. Because amazonite cleaves along flat planes, a hard knock can split a stone, so set the stones down gently and keep them in a dish or a cloth-lined box. The larger stones near 40mm show the white patterning most clearly, and the smaller ones near 15mm sit between two fingertips. A 40mm stone fills the center of a palm, and a handful of mixed sizes shows how the pattern changes from piece to piece.
Practical Ritual Applications
Crystal guides link amazonite with the heart and throat chakras and with themes of truth and calm. Slip a stone into your pocket before a conversation you’ve been rehearsing, or set one beside your journal while you write the letter you haven’t sent. A few stones in a shallow dish make a quiet focal point on a desk, and one beside your Tarot deck gives you something to hold while you word a question aloud. Stones near 40mm anchor a grid well, with the 15 to 20mm pieces filling the gaps around them. For other stones associated with speaking and listening, browse my communication stones. Amazonite contains lead, so keep the stones away from your mouth and out of drinking water.
How to Work With Amazonite Tumbled Stones
Three steps for turning a pound of amazonite into a working set.
- Sort by Shade and Pattern
Pour the stones onto a white cloth near a window and turn each one in the light. Group them by color, from pale mint to deep aqua, and set aside the stones with the boldest white veining. Choose one of the larger stones as your center piece and five or six smaller ones as companions. Keep the rest in a bowl, and come back to the cloth whenever you want a different combination.
- Lay a Small Grid
Place the largest stone in the middle of a flat, steady surface. Arrange four smaller stones around it at the corners of a square, and add a written intention, a Tarot card or a candle in a holder at the center if that suits your practice. Pick a spot where nothing will knock the stones, because a hard impact can split amazonite along its cleavage. Reset the layout whenever your focus changes.
- Rinse Briefly and Store Dry
When the stones need freshening, wipe them with a soft cloth and a little mild soap, rinse them briefly, and dry them right away. Skip long soaks, steam, hot water and ultrasonic cleaners, and keep the stones out of strong direct sunlight for long stretches. Store them in a dish, a drawer or a cloth-lined box away from harder stones, which can scratch them.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
My amazonite is sold by the pound because the color is easy to love and the 15 to 40mm size is easy to use. A full pound gives you stones for a grid, a bowl for your desk and a few to pass along, and the soft aqua-green sits well beside white candles, clear quartz and cream altar cloths. The white veining in these stones gives every piece its own pattern. For smaller pieces or other stones sold by the pound, browse my bulk tumbled stones collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
A brief rinse is fine. Jewelry guides suggest mild soap, a soft cloth and a quick rinse, and they advise against long soaks. A German gem-testing lab found that an amazonite sample released lead in an acidic, saliva-like test, at about five times the limit for children's toys, and it advises against placing amazonite directly in drinking water. For that reason, keep the stones out of gem elixirs and out of the mouth.
The two share a blue-green color range and little else. Amazonite is a feldspar, a potassium aluminum silicate that rates 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale. Turquoise is a hydrous copper aluminum phosphate that rates 5 to 6, and it is opaque. Amazonite crystals grow in pegmatites and veins, and turquoise is cryptocrystalline, almost never forming single crystals.
Some amazonite can. One jewelry guide reports that sun exposure fades certain varieties, though a few intensify in sunlight, and that heat can dull the color. A crystal reference also advises avoiding prolonged direct sunlight. A shelf away from direct sun is the safer home for the stones.
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