Gems By Mail Blog

Fool's Gold (Pyrite)

Fool's Gold (Pyrite)

Amber Neszpaul

I must be either a fool or a magpie, because I love pyrite—its glitter, its sharp cubes and octahedrons, its heaviness in the hand. This stone evokes the dragon’s hoard....

Fool's Gold (Pyrite)

Amber Neszpaul

I must be either a fool or a magpie, because I love pyrite—its glitter, its sharp cubes and octahedrons, its heaviness in the hand. This stone evokes the dragon’s hoard....

Septarian: Earth's Dragon Stone

Septarian: Earth's Dragon Stone

Amber Neszpaul

If ever there existed a stone on Earth that evoked visions of fantastical worlds, then that stone must be septarian. In fact, septarian is also known by the names “dragon...

Septarian: Earth's Dragon Stone

Amber Neszpaul

If ever there existed a stone on Earth that evoked visions of fantastical worlds, then that stone must be septarian. In fact, septarian is also known by the names “dragon...

Iceland Spar, Vikings' Sunstone

Iceland Spar, Vikings' Sunstone

Amber Neszpaul

Medieval Icelandic texts speak of a “sunstone,” or a mineral by which one could locate the precise position of the sun in an overcast sky. More than 1,000 years ago, the...

Iceland Spar, Vikings' Sunstone

Amber Neszpaul

Medieval Icelandic texts speak of a “sunstone,” or a mineral by which one could locate the precise position of the sun in an overcast sky. More than 1,000 years ago, the...

How A Fossil Forms

How A Fossil Forms

Amber Neszpaul

Imagine you are holding a fossil. (Or, if you’ve a fossil in your possession, take it in your hands for a moment.) Perhaps your fossil is an ammonite, with hypnotic...

How A Fossil Forms

Amber Neszpaul

Imagine you are holding a fossil. (Or, if you’ve a fossil in your possession, take it in your hands for a moment.) Perhaps your fossil is an ammonite, with hypnotic...

Celebrating Tree Agate

Celebrating Tree Agate

Amber Neszpaul

In the 1800s, transcendentalist American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson often referred to nature as his “cathedral.” He wrote, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel...

Celebrating Tree Agate

Amber Neszpaul

In the 1800s, transcendentalist American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson often referred to nature as his “cathedral.” He wrote, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel...

Lapis Lazuli & the Ancients

Lapis Lazuli & the Ancients

Amber Neszpaul

For just a moment, pretend you’re riding a merchant caravan crossing the ancient Iranian civilization called Bactria. You’re travelling down a valley road with enormous mountains looming on either side....

Lapis Lazuli & the Ancients

Amber Neszpaul

For just a moment, pretend you’re riding a merchant caravan crossing the ancient Iranian civilization called Bactria. You’re travelling down a valley road with enormous mountains looming on either side....