Certain chemical elements bond with others easily, such as silicon and oxygen. Silicon atoms rather enjoy having threesomes with two Oxygen atoms — one just isn't enough fun! — and the Oxygen atoms seem

A beautiful piece of red jasper, one of the "pretty rocks" in my collection of minerals, stones, and crystals. ——————————— See my other ColorChallenge posts and PrettyRocks posts

Love my amethyst ring, which I got at a really sweet price a dozen years ago at a shop in Florida. Since it is such a pale stone, I suspect it is natural, and not irradiated to look darker; most — but

Lapis Lazuli, or just "lapis" for short, is a stone that was admired for its beauty even in ancient times. Funerary masks in ancient Egypt, such as the famous one for the Pharaoh Tutankhamun,

AGATE is a mineral in the silica family, composed of the same basic stuff as quartz and other stones. And then there are many different types of agate. This particular agate formed in an area where marine