Amethyst Quartz - see Cape Amethyst.

Aventurine - green or blue semi-translucent to mostly opaque stone with mica flecks that cause a slight metallic iridescence. I use Green Aventurine in the jewelry.

Agates: include Blue Lace Agate, Moss Agate and Tree Agate; see individual listings.

Black Onyx - a black opaque stone.

Bloodstone - dark green opaque stone with red spotting.

Blue Lace Agate - light blue translucent stone with white or milky banding. Has a very delicate appearance.

Cape Amethyst (Amethyst Quartz) - translucent light to medium purple stone with white banding. This is actually a rough form of amethyst layered or striped with milky quartz.

Carnelian (also see Natural Carnelian) - orange to bright red-orange translucent stone. The orange variety frequently has areas of lighter and darker orange, giving it a banded or less uniform look (but very pretty). On this site, I refer to the reddish style as "Carnelian" and the orange style as "Natural Carnelian."

Clear Quartz (Rock Crystal) - a colorless transparent stone. It sounds plain, but wears nicely; even bead-cut instead of faceted it catches the light very prettily.

Fancy Jasper - an opaque multi-colored stone; colors are muted and range from green-blue to pinkish to orange-yellow frequently in the same stone. A very pretty stone with lots of color variation.

Fluorite - a transparent stone; green and purple with clear areas or bands.

Garnet - transparent stone ranging in color from light red to darkish plum red.

Hematite - silvery, shiny opaque stone. This is the stone that looks like it could be metal. Genuine hematite is heavier than most stones and seems cold when you first touch it.

Iolite - a transparent blue-violet stone; the lighter colors show more of the violet hue. Even so, this is still a much bluer stone than amethyst.

Jaspers - include Fancy Jasper, Picture Jasper, Poppy Jasper and Red Jasper; see individual listings.

Lapis Lazuli (or just Lapis) - dark, royal blue opaque stone with white veins or patches (calcite) and a few gold-looking metallic flecks (pyrite). Lots of lapis is dyed to enhance the blue in the stone. The lapis in Ticat jewelry is always natural (undyed).

Malachite - green, green, green. This is an opaque, banded stone; the colors in the bands range from a very light green to almost black.

Moonstone - translucent milky stone with a little iridescence (catches the light much like Tiger's Eye). Can be found in several colors, most common are whitish-clear, various shades of grey, and light peach.

Moss Agate - not an agate, strictly speaking, but a chalcedony. Semi-transparent to opaque, mostly a variety of green tones with a little white or clear.

Natural Carnelian (also see Carnelian) - light to medium orange translucent stone, frequently with areas of lighter and darker orange for a banded or mottled look (it's really pretty). Some carnelian is more of a bright reddish-orange; on this site I refer to the reddish-orange stone as "Carnelian" and the orange stone as "Natural Carnelian."

Onyx: includes Black Onyx, Natural Onyx and White Onyx; see individual listings.

Natural Onyx - a semi-translucent to opaque, light colored stone with some banding. Found in varying degrees of yellowish-white, pale greenish-white, and grey. Also see White Onyx.

Picture Jasper - a lovely tan, opaque stone with medium and dark brown patches that make the "pictures."

Poppy Jasper - another lovely stone (jaspers are really pretty). Opaque, with lots of autumn colors - brick red, whites, browns and blacks.

Quartz: includes Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, Smokey Quartz, and White Quartz; see individual listings.

Rock Crystal - see Clear Quartz.

Red Jasper - just like the name implies. An opaque, mostly red stone; sometimes with a few dark veins running through it. The red in Red Jasper is more of a rusty color than a brick red.

Rhodochrosite - looks like a pink version of Malachite. A medium to light pink opaque stone with cream or creamy-pink banding.

Rhodonite - another pink, opaque stone. Medium pink to kind of dusty rose, often with black inclusions.

Rose Quartz - a pink transparent stone, sometimes leaning toward translucent, or with inclusions. (I think pink stone names have to start with an"R".) The untreated stones are usually a very pale pink. Most of what's available has been dyed to enhance the color, resulting in a pretty, petal pink.

Smokey Quartz - a brown transparent stone. Ranges in color from very slightly brown to dark - like root beer.

Snow Quartz - see White Quartz.

Sodalite - an opaque blue stone, similar to Lapis but with a more denim-like blue. Has varying degrees of white veining (calcite) and occasionally a fleck of two of pyrite.

Tiger Iron - related to Tiger's Eye, but more plain. A banded, opaque stone, with metallic grey, some red, and sometimes a little brown Tiger's Eye.

Tiger's Eye - an opaque brown stone, with bands of darker brown and golden-yellow. It has a silky luster, and catches the light along the golden bands, causing the chatoyant quality Tiger's Eye is known for. (Chatoyancy - having a changeable luster, like a cat's eye.)

Unakite - an opaque stone variegated with shades of green and pink, sometimes with a little russet or red.

White Marble - an opaque stone with a little metallic shimmer to it (like aventurine). This stone has some depth to it, which is unusual for an opaque stone.

White Onyx - a semi-translucent white to slightly yellowish-white stone. Sometimes with more opaque white banding.

White Quartz - a translucent white stone. White Quartz is usually pretty uniform in terms of the color, but has varying degrees of opacity - areas of more or less cloudiness.