The first time I went to a crystal show as a buyer, I was just starting out and admittedly had a lot to learn.   My addiction to crystals started some years before, but this was the first opportunity I had to purchase for my own business.  One thing I had learned early on was what I liked and what I did not like. (It earned me quite the reputation and a humorous nick name to boot).  But there were also other factors I was now looking for, as my purchases were not only for me, but for the others I would be serving.

There were many things I now had to take into consideration,on a much larger scale, when purchasing a crystal.  Size, of course, depending on the how the stone would be used.  Polished flats were requested for healing since they lay on the body much better than a tumble, flatter 3/4" tumbles for my jewelry wrappers, larger polished specimens for healing rooms, etc.  What the stone may hold, in the way of energy and purpose was also key in my decisions.  And I was always on the look out for those odd, unusual and hard to get pieces.

As I wandered, quite overwhelmed, from table to table, I will never forget a seller describing a specific piece I was looking at.  "This", he said, "is a totally polished, opaque piece with a few minor pits and dings".   Um, what?  Polished, I understood, but the rest was a language I was none too familiar with and I am thinking my blank stare probably appeared quite funny to this Brazilian.   And in a matter of moments, this gentle spoken, heavy accented, sweet man began to train me in the art of descriptive terminology.

This is what I share with you today.  I am all about simplicity, so this is a list I created to explain, in simple terms, a crystals "character".  So let's begin!

PITTED OR PITTING

Many stones can be tumbled, like the Nephrite Jade you see in this example.  Most pieces that are identified as "Jade" take a very high polish and tend to be smooth and uniform in appearance.   However, sometimes during the tumbling process, the stones come out with a mostly smooth finish with indented areas called "Pits" or "Pitting".   These can usually be identified by touch or visible to the naked eye.

Does it affect the energy of the stone?  In my opinion, no, it is simply a natural occurrence in the tumbling process.

DENT OR DING

This is very similar to Pits and/or Pitting.  There are some tumbles that are for the most part smooth, but may have a small single dinged or dented area.  This is a relatively common occurrence.   Most tumbled stones, as they go through the process, are handled frequently, from tumbling to bagging to shipping.  A small ding may appear along the way like in this piece of Rose Quartz.

Or, it could simply be that the stone had an indentation in it before the tumbling process began.  In order not to lose a good portion of the stone by tumbling until that one pit is out, they keep the indented area and more of the stone for the customer.

ROUGH TUMBLED

The Chrysoprase you see here is an example of what is identified as "Rough Tumbled".  It has gone through the same tumbling process but due to a variety of factors (location, matrix included, tumbling process, hardness of stone, etc.) it may not be as smooth as other tumbled stones.

Many people like the rough tumbled since they feel it still is close to its natural state with just a few rough edges smoothed out.

SMOOTH TUMBLED

This Carnelian tumble is a very good example of a smooth tumbled stone.  This particular piece has no pitting, no rough areas, no dents or scratches.  It is simply smooth all the way around.

Many stones are identified as "Smooth" due do their hardness and ability to polish well.

NATURAL

When I describe something as "Natural"or "Raw", I mean that it is totally free from processing (tumbling or polishing).  Some Rubies, Sapphires, Apatites and Kunzite pieces, just to name a few, would fall into this category.  Also look for pale Citrine and Smoky Quartz, normally identified in the description as "Natural",  as these are more than likely natural, un-enhanced (see next entry) pieces.

ENHANCED (LAB or HAND-MADE)

"Enhanced" pieces, normally lab enhanced or man made should always be identified as what they are-enhanced.  This means they were either grown in a lab or in some way enhanced, like the bonding of Gold to make Aqua Aura, heat treating to make a more colorful Citrine or the extra irradiation to create dark Smoky Quartz.  Other stones that are enhanced include sparkly Goldstone, metallic Silicon and lab grown Chalcanthite.

TRANSPARENT

When we speak of a piece being "transparent", it describes a piece that is see through.  Some call these water clear pieces.  The definition of Transparent/Transparency is the property of allowing transmission of light through a material.  See the Green Kunzite example below.

Many natural quartz points as well as polished orbs and points may be transparent.

SEMI-TRANSPARENT

The Spessartite Garnet here is an example of a "Semi-transparent" crystal.  Light is able to move through the crystal in some areas which appear more transparent than other areas of denser material in which the light cannot pass though as easily.

Many semi-translucent pieces appear as if a sheer fabric is being held up in front of them.  You can somewhat see through the fabric, but the light allowed through is lessened making the piece appear more clouded and muted.  Here is an absolutely beautiful picture of Lepidolite that shows another perfect example of Semi-Transparency.

OPAQUE

When you are working with material that is impenetrable to visible light, it is called "Opaque".  The Black Obsidian shown here would be described as Opaque, because when it is held up to a light source, no light passes through and it remains unchanged in appearance.

For me, I find that having this information is very helpful.  It is great help to have this knowledge in your crystal and stone vocabulary, especially when you are not present to purchase in person.  You can take advantage of this simple terminology to describe in detail what exactly it is you are looking for.  So go pick up some crystals and get to know them a little better.  Whether there are pits or dings, smooth or rough exteriors, polished or natural -- they are all part of the crystals character and life experiences.

Written by Kristi Huggins, Author and Expert Contributor for Healing Crystals