Obsidian gemstone

Physical properties of obsidian

Characteristics of obsidian

Obsidian (bottle stone, resin stone, parsian, snow stone). Named after the warrior Obsian, who first brought these brilliant stones from Ethiopia to Ancient Rome. According to another version, the name comes from the Greek "obsis", which translates as "spectacle", since in those days obsidian was used to make mirrors.

Obsidian is a volcanic glass of black, brown, gray color. Brown obsidian with black inclusions is called "parsian", black with white inclusions is Apache tears, and if the white inclusions look like snowflakes - snow obsidian.

Until now, mineralogists and jewelers are arguing whether obsidian should be classified as precious stones or excluded from the list.

Even in ancient times, people made knives and arrowheads from obsidian. Obsidian was also used to create cameos. One of the most famous are the obsidian cameos by the ancient master of Pergamon, in particular the "Bacchae" and "Muse". Now obsidian is mainly used for inexpensive jewelry: they make beads and bracelets. However, obsidian is often used for carvings.

Obsidian products are not very expensive, although some of them look very elegant.

How much is obsidian

Obsidian prices are very low. Even the best obsidian will cost no more than $1 per carat. Obsidian beads will cost $15-30. The price of a bracelet with obsidian is $10-20.