Greetings, Friends!
Growing up, I seemed to have two main interests: Barbies and jewels. I was so in love and obsessed with jewels that I would pretend to be an appraiser when I'd visit a graciously obliging grandmother or aunt, going through their highly personal possessions and deeming them "priceless" or "worthless" depending on how pretty I found the colors. What a rude nerd I was.
While Barbie has admittedly lost and then recently, ever briefly, regained her relevance to me, jewels have only grown and expanded in my lifelong fascination. And living in Colorado is like living at the gateway to that wonderful world. This week I visited the Denver Gem & Mineral Showcase, which involves a staggering number of gem and mineral dealers coming from all over the world, with their even more staggering posse of gem and mineral collections, to showcase in ten separate shows.
Each show is a bit different - for example, I purchased beads for my upcoming collection at one (the Denver Gem & Mineral Show) while volunteering at another focused more on raw and museum-quality gems (the Hardrock Summit).
There are some truly stunning things you can see and purchase at these shows, and one passerby said it best: "Gem and mineral shows bring the best out of the best people, and so it really is a time to celebrate." It just happened to be while I was looking at what would become my best find of the whole week: a Celestite geode weighing in at 18.5lbs.
Just look at that Beaut! Its color ranges from the deepest of celestite's iconic gray-blue to the most angelic, heaven-shaded blue-white. It expresses so well what I love so much about celestite geodes, which is the contrast of that gray-blue against the creamy, stark-white outer layer. A cracked open celestite geode to me looks like a partially-eaten piece of celestial fruit. So, in honor of its magnificence, this week we're going to dive into the wonderful world of my personal favorite mineral - Celestite.
This is my Celestite collection. I became obsessed with the mineral only a year ago when one of my favorite curiosity shops received a shipment of them in. It already holds the title of Favorite for me, along with only Opal and Turquoise.
Celestite's official name is Celestine, and so where you see either name you're seeing the same thing: a beautiful white geode with gray-blue crystals, or standalone gray-blue crystals. Other variations can be brown, yellow, pink, white, or orange and can be found in double-terminated formats (points at both ends).
The geodes are most commonly found in Madagascar and are by far the most popular of the species, as this is how Celestite/Celestine got its name. Named in 1799 by A.G. Werner, a German geologist, he used the Latin word "coelestis," which translates to "celestial." However, celestite has been beloved for so much longer, as it was used for protection from evil in ancient Greece and Rome. Sicilians claimed that celestine fell from the heavens themselves. It is striking that separate eras of civilization have viewed celestite and given it heavenly associations.
The largest known geode of all is a Celestite, and its magnificence does not disappoint. Estimated to have formed during the last ice age 12-15,000 years ago, it is located "near the village of Put-in-Bay, OH, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie," according to Wikipedia and has been transformed into - guys - an actual viewing cave. I see a field trip to unlikely Ohio in my future!!
Wikipedia says that this geode is 35 feet in diameter, and some of the individual crystals in this Celestite geode are estimated to weigh up to 300 pounds each.
Photo source: www.geologyin.com.
Celestite's chemical properties are stronium sulfate, the same chemical compound used in fireworks. Ground up into powder, celestine has been used to produce bright red in the displays. It is known to replace alabaster in many of its formations, although celestite has been found to have made formations in many other circumstances. Celestite's hardness has given jewelers pause, at 3-3.5 out of 10 (diamond having a score of 10) on the Mohs scale, but it can be made into beautiful pendants, beads, and other adorning formats. Mostly, though, Celestite is placed throughout the home for its meditative qualities.
Celestite is one of the best minerals with which to meditate, because it carries a high vibration. Known as a powerful healing stone, celestite can open the third eye and crown chakras, giving its user the ability to see inside themselves more clearly, cool heated emotions, communicate more clearly and authentically, and maintain mental clarity in stressful, highly dynamic, and ambiguous situations. Celestite is the perfect desk crystal, keeping you in this high-vibratory state for your best work and collaborations.
While it's certainly not a gemstone giant, one that's highly sought-after and obsessed over like diamonds or emeralds, celestite is in its own right a mineral to be reckoned with. Its beauty and high vibratory properties make it an unparalleled stone with which to meditate, and it's produced the world's largest known geode. In my book, celestite just rocks.
That's all for this week, folks. I hope the changing of the seasons is bringing you renewed energy and attention toward the intersection of nature and design. Fall is our wonderful time of nesting - taking stock of our dwellings and preparing for a long winter inside it while it's still pleasant to get out. As you take stock of your dwelling, don't forget to visit our shop for sophisticated, nature-inspired pieces that can host a brigade of holiday guests in style.
Until next week,
Courtney
