Goldstone

Goldstone is a sparkly man-made glass, which can be manufactured in a few different colours.

It has a few origin stories, the most prevalent of which insists some Venetian monks were making glass when they accidentally spilt some Copper filings into it. Whether this is accurate or not, I have no idea.

Different materials in the glass cause different colours. Blue is caused by Cobalt or Manganese, dark green is Chromium, and the reddy-brown colour is caused by small inclusions of Copper.

Goldstone is almost universally sold polished – it is, after all, a glass. There are no specimen pieces in their host rock, or interesting crystal formations to be found here, just sharp lumps of glass.

It is commonly used for carvings, tumblestones, and jewellery making – but it is sometimes misrepresented, either as natural or as something else entirely.

One of the more common names I see popping up for it is ‘golden sandstone’, which is extremely misleading considering Sandstone is a real type of rock.

Information about Goldstone Glass

Goldstone is an interesting man made glass which is created in blue, red, and green.

It is often sold polished, as tumblestones or carvings or jewellery. The rough pieces are not especially common but can be purchased for lapidary – although precautions should be taken as they are a form of glass.

The glass is created by mixing glass and metal in an oxygen reducing furnace atmosphere; crystallisation allows the metal to become shiny inclusions in the glass itself.

Red and Blue Goldstones are the most common, and contain Copper and Cobalt respectively. Green Goldstone takes its colour from Chromium oxides.

While one manufacturing process for Goldstone was invented in Venice in the seventeenth century, there is archaeological evidence that it was made in the 12-13th Century in Iran.

Chemistry and Manufacture

Goldstone consists of normal silica glass with metal inclusions – Copper oxide, Cobalt, Manganese, or Chromium Oxides.

It measures around 6 on the mohs scale, depending on manufacturing method, and has a specific gravity between 2.50 and 2.80.

If you’re interested, you can read this 19th century recipe for the glass.

Locales

Goldstone is a man-made glass and as such doesn’t really have a ‘locale’.

Historically, it was made in Murano and Venice, in Italy. In the modern day, I’m actually having trouble finding any information but we can assume production has likely moved East, probably to China.

Hazards and Dangers

Well – Goldstone is a glass, and there are some inherent dangers to glass. If you buy rough specimens, they’ll definitely have some very sharp edges, same as if the glass is broken.

Lapidarists, cutters, and polishers should be careful too. Silica dust inhalation can cause silicosis, a very unpleasant condition.

Other Names

One popular name for this material is ‘Aventurine Glass’. It is also sometimes known as Sandstone when used in watches.

The colours are also referred to – we have red Goldstone, brown Goldstone, blue Goldstone and green Goldstone.

Spirituality and crystal healing with Goldstone glass

We offer some collated information on the supposed crystal healing and metaphysical uses of crystals below.

However, we believe crystals and crystal healing should be used alongside medicine and treatment options, not instead of them. Crystal healing can be a great way to keep a positive mindset during hard times, and it may complement any other medical treatments you are undergoing.

With the exception of an allergy to a stone, or mishandling a toxic or poisonous stone, there should be no reason reiki or crystal healing can’t be done alongside traditional medical procedures.

As a man made glass, many crystal healing practitioners claim Goldstone does not hold any power, although others do.

Many of the others believe the glass can hold the powers of the metal inclusions – red Goldstone would have the powers of Copper, etc.

Ultimately, all we can say is, if the piece feels or looks right to you, if it draws you in, it is the piece for you.

Healing Properties

People believe that blue Goldstone can be used to transmit healing energies, and help to soothe sensitivity. Because of this, its thought to be a great piece to give to empaths.

Red/Brown Goldstone has Copper inclusions, and is thought to carry many of the properties of the element. It may help to generate and cleanse energy fields, and divert negative energies into the Earth. It is also believed to help the circulatory system.

Elixirs

We do not recommend making ‘gemstone elixirs’ in general – whether you’re using a gemstone, mineral, crystal, or glass.

If you do choose to make elixirs we would recommend an indirect method, either by placing a glass full of stones into your elixir container, or by placing the stones around the outside of your elixir container. Some people suggest using Quartz points alongside these stones in order to amplify and direct the energy into the water.

As Goldstone contains metal inclusions, it should never be left in contact with liquids.

Chakras

Some people say brown/red Goldstone is helpful for the sacral chakra due to the colour of the material. Others believe it can be used with the Root chakra.

Blue Goldstone, however, is usually associated with the heart, throat, and crown Chakras.

Zodiac Sign

Most sources seem to suggest Goldstone is perfect for Sagittarius.

Translations

Arabic	غولدستون الأزرق غولدستون الاحمر	Hausa		Russian	синий золотой камень красный золотой камень авантюрин Авантюриновое стекло
Bengali	সোনার পাথর	Hungarian		Spanish
Burmese		Italian	pietra d’oro Avventurina (vetro)	Swahili
Chinese		Japanese	ゴールドストーン	Swedish
Czech		Javanese		Tamil	கோல்ட்ஸ்டோன்
Dutch	goudsteenglas	Korean	금석	Telugu	గోల్డ్స్టోన్
Esperanto		Malay		Thai
Farsi		Marathi		Ukrainian
French	Verre aventuriné	Polish	Szkło awenturynowe	Urdu
German	Goldsteinglas Goldfluss Blaufluss Aventuringlas Goldstein	Portuguese	vidro goldstone	Vietnamese
Greek		Punjabi
Gujurati		Romanian

Spotted a mistake? Let us know!

External links and further reading

Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldstone_(glass)

Mindat page: https://www.mindat.org/min-11403.html