You can make your own jewellery in-store on any Thursday in July and August, starting July 15th. Our store is open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm every day, but jewellery-making will only be available between 10:a00 am nad 4:00 pm. Must be at least 10 years of age to participate and kids under 12 must have adult supervision.

Summer in the Scratch Patch

The Victoria Day long weekend is finally here and Mineral World is celebrating the start of summer. Come in any time on Saturday, Sunday, or holiday Monday and get an XL Scratch Patch collector bag 2 for the price of 1. Enjoy the sun and ocean air in the Scratch Patch and collect a whole pile of polished gemstones for just $15!

While you’re here, visit our “Grown-Up Scratch Patch” (otherwise known as the jewellery counters) to find some cool new summer accessory. Larimar, Charoite, Tiger Eye, Moonstone, Quartz, or Labradorite — the stones are fabulous and they are a perfect complement to summer’s air of casual sophistication. We’ll get your season’s collection started with a 10% discount on all gemstone and silver jewellery this weekend.

Victoria Day long weekend hours: Saturday, Sunday and Monday: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Schober family after winning Mineral World's large amethyst geode draw.

Congratulations to Tim Schober and his family, winners of our large amethyst geode. They were very excited and we were happy to see it go to a good home.

Didn’t win? You can still buy one. Mineral World’s amethyst geodes are from Brazil and they range in price from $300 to $1750.

The event which gave birth to Moldavite was one of tremendous power. The force of the impact explosion has been estimated at six trillion megatons, far more than all the atom bombs on earth. The heat was high enough to vaporize rock, and the main body of the meteorite is believed to have passed entirely through the Earth’s crust.

Its bottle-green glass colour led many to believe it was an artificial product, but we now know that pieces of Moldavite are widely distributed in Tertiary and early Pleistocene deposits in Bohemia and Moravia.  It was once believed to be a form of obsidian, but its fusibility and chemistry argue against a volcanic origin.

Though Moldavite has been promoted by some as extraterrestrial, that is probably not the case. According to tektite theory, a meteorite impact melts material from the Earth’s surface and catapults it up to several hundred kilometres away from the impact site. The molten material cools and solidifies to glass. On this theory, a meteorite impact causes their formation, but the precursor material of tektites is primarily of terrestrial origin, as determined from isotopic measurements. Today, the terrestrial origin of tektites is widely accepted based on the results of geochemical and isotopic studies.

High quality Moldavite stones are often used in hand-crafted jewellery.

The total amount of Moldavite scattered around the world is estimated at 270 tons. There are now only four Moldavite mines that are in full operation in the Czech Republic. It is anticipated that commercial mining of this gemstone will cease within the decade.

In modern times, Moldavite has emerged as one of the stones most prized for metaphysical purposes. Many claim a physical reaction to Moldavite — the “Moldavite Flush.” It is thought to be a strong transformational stone.

Boulder opal is found in Australia where precious opal forms in veins and patches within brown ironstone boulders. When opal intrudes into cracks and seams in the host rock (usually ironstone),
it is called SEAM boulder opal. When the opal is mixed through the ironstone it is called MATRIX opal. Hardness ranges between 5.5 and 6 on the Moh’s scale.

Boulder opal is very durable due to the ironstone backing the opal forms on. Because water content within the opal is very low it almost never cracks as it ages.

Boulder opal is believed to aid inner beauty, faithfulness, and eyesight and helps recall past lives.

Come check out the Boulder Opal specimens, pendants, and drilled pendants at Mineral World!

Clear Crystal Cluster

With April kicking off next week, we have the perfect opportunity to celebrate the mineral Quartz. Though diamond is considered the modern birthstone for the fourth month, the traditional birthstone – Clear Quartz – is infinitely more fascinating.

Did you know that quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth’s continental crust? The macrocrystalline (big crystal) varieties of quartz have attractive and visible crystals, but microcrystalline varieties (with crystals that can’t be seen without magnification) are common. It erodes more slowly than most other minerals, so smaller particles accumulate as sand.

If Quartz is broken during the growth process, it can “re-heal,” but pressures may also cause fractures within a crystal. When held in sunlight, a “rainbow effect” is produced in the area of a fracture. The nature of the colors depends on the thickness of the space in the fracture. Sir Isaac Newton discovered the color spectrum by refracting sunlight through a natural crystal. Reflecting rainbows on his wall allowed him to measure the different lengths of the rays of our invisible light spectrum.

Quartz has other interesting properties. A small amount of electricity applied to a crystal makes it vibrate (the piezoelectric property), which is used for quartz watches and similar applications. Also, when two pieces of quartz are rubbed against each other they will produce a flicker of light, called triboluminescence, and a metallic odour.

Quartz has been associated with the presence of gold, and its discovery was therefore seen as a possible predictor of gold strikes. There were gold rushes and mines dug in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas (the site of huge Quartz deposits), but no gold was found in the veins.

In terms of psychic and metaphysical qualities, Clear Quartz is considered the most vital element of any crystal collection. It contains within it the full spectrum of colors, and can thus be used for a variety of purposes: psychic and emotional healing, programming for any of your goals, to balance the chakras, or as a general meditational aid. It has long been believed to remove negative thoughts, increase psychism, enhance meditation and raise consciousness. It has been used in many cultures for healing and in amplifying energy.

Clear Quartz is available in many forms. In addition to attractive jewellery, you can find it in clusters, points, spheres, pyramids, totems, and runestones.

If you’re not already familiar with this extraordinary mineral, make April the month to explore it in all of its forms. Visit Mineral World where we’ll be offering Clear Quartz clusters for 50% off the regular retail price.

There’s no purchase necessary, but you do have to be 18 years of age to enter. If you are the happy winner, you will be responsible for picking up your new geode or paying for any shipping costs.

For those of you not familiar with amethyst or geodes, here is a little more information:

Amethyst has been prized for its beauty and its legendary energies for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks believed that amethyst would prevent intoxication, calm anger, and relieve frustrated passion. It is the provinical stone of Ontario and is also found in chevron bands in Nova Scotia. The world’s major supplier is Brazil. It is the birthstone for February and the most valuable from of Quartz.

Geodes are formed when hot liquid rock (magma), rick in quartz, fills an empty hole (or vug) in the host rock. This host is relatively cool, so the geode hardens from the outside towards the middle, leaving solidifying rings rather like a retreating tide leaves lines in the sand. This process takes thousands of year. As each layer is deposited, different chemicals add different colours (Amethyst’s colour is due to cobalt). Because of shrinkage, a void may form in the geode’s centre, into which crystals can grow.