14/01/2026
Rocks I’ve bought recently & why 🪨✨ a geologists picks!
This is a handful of my favourites from the past few months - let me know if you want to see more! 💜
🪨 Smoky quartz, tourmaline and orthoclase feldspar
📍 Betafo, Madagascar
🛍️ on
I went after this piece because I wanted some interesting tourmaline - and this piece does not disappoint! The tourmaline is a lovely gemmy berry colour, and the surrounding quartzes and feldspars are really interesting to look at. Lovely geology case study of a pegmatite assemblage, and the colouring is giving trifle in the best way 🍓🥄
🪨 Corundum var. Sapphire
📍 Loch Scridain, Isle of Mull, Scotland
🛍️ on
I heard of Scottish sapphires a few years ago and have wanted some ever since - after many years of family holidays on Mull and the surrounding Hebrides I’m chuffed with this one! The sapphires crystals have been partially weathered out (this locality is a sea loch shore), and there are some other minerals hanging around too (I’ll do a video soon!).
🪨 Feldspar var. Amazonite
📍 Montepuez District, Mozambique
🛍️ at the Bakewell Rock Exchange
I lurve feldspars but didn’t have any Amazonite previously so when I saw this interesting chunk with such striking perthitic texture, I grabbed it! The zebra stripes (perthites) are where the feldspar has ‘curdled’ as it’s cooled, and ‘blebs’ of white albite have crystallised.
🪨 Quartz with chalcopyrite and dravite needles
📍 Panasqueira Mines, Portugal
🛍️ at
The fantastic Maria had already gifted me some really interesting mica ‘birthing stones’ (video coming soon), but the rest of her stock was super interesting too. Dravite is unusual for the locality, and tbh I wish I’d got more.
Which one of these is your favourite? ✨💜
