Sunday, April 06, 2008

Prehnite: Misty and Romantic



Prehnite is one of those gemstones that no one has ever heard of until suddenly you start seeing it everywhere. Discovered in the 18th century in South Africa by a Colonel von Prehn, prehnite is usually a light green colour - a distinctive green not quite like any other although I have seen people confuse it with green tourmalinated quartz. It is also found in Namibia, Germany, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, India, Austria, and Canada as well as Scotland, Australia and France.
I like prehnite for its "misty" quality of green; some would say almost a milky quality although I disagree with that term. It does have black inclusions occasionally, but often these inclusions simply add to its beauty since the contrast with the pale green is quite beautiful. The prehnite bracelet above can be found on our Unique Gemstone Jewelry page, and the one below on the Unique Handmade Bracelets page. The prehnite bracelet above is simply two strands of prehnite blessed only with sterling silver for an accent, while the bracelet below also has the lovely lampwork beads of Suzette Celestin of Gaslite Lampwork. For those of you interested in the metaphysical aspects of gemstones, prehnite is best known for promoting lucid dreaming and is known as a protective gemstone with regenerative properties. It is also said to encourage energy flow through the body.
And here, because graduation is coming up, I've included a prayer box necklace with a difference: lampwork beads and genuine natural aquamarines. It's also loaded with sterling silver and would make a great graduation gift for a young girl who's special to you. Of course, the greatest part of the gift would probably be the prayer that you could write on a tiny piece of paper and put inside the prayer box so that it could accompany her on her journeys after graduation.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

No matter what shade of green comes up, I Love Green. Your bracelet made from prehnite is beautiful. I like the soft presenttation of it's color.