Bloodstone Beads
Bloodstone beads are dark green chalcedony scattered with red spots of iron oxide, a stone also known by its older name, heliotrope. It is often called a jasper, and it does sit at the opaque end of the chalcedony family. This collection holds natural bloodstone and African bloodstone in a range of finishes and shapes for bracelets, necklaces and earrings.
Appearance
The base is a deep green, from bottle green to a greyer moss, and the red appears as flecks, veins or small patches that vary from bead to bead. Some beads carry many spots and some none at all, so a strand is always a mix. Classic Indian bloodstone is darker and more uniform in its green; African bloodstone, also sold as seftonite, is more mottled, with grey-green, olive and lighter zones and often larger patches of red.
A polished finish brings out the depth of the green and makes the red read brighter; a matte finish mutes both into a soft, stony surface where the spots show as faint freckles. Faceting is uncommon because the stone is opaque. At 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, bloodstone is as hard as other chalcedony and holds up well in everyday bracelets, with no special care beyond a wipe with a soft cloth.
Formation and origin
Bloodstone is a cryptocrystalline quartz, formed where silica-rich water filled cavities and fractures in volcanic rock and slowly hardened into chalcedony. The green comes from included chlorite or amphibole minerals, and the red spots are hematite, an iron oxide, that formed in the same silica. The classic source is the Kathiawar peninsula of India, and most of the material sold as African bloodstone is mined in South Africa, with further supply from Brazil, Australia, China and the United States.
Pairings
Lepidolite beads: lilac against dark green is a quiet contrast; lepidolite is much softer, so separate the two with spacers.
Tiger's eye beads: golden brown beside bloodstone's green and red stays in the same earthy range, and both are quartz.
Tourmaline beads: black tourmaline spacers suit bloodstone's dark green and match its hardness closely.
Meaning and Metaphysical Beliefs
Bloodstone has long been tied to courage and vitality. Medieval Christian tradition held that its red spots were drops of Christ's blood, and it was carved into seals and amulets across Europe. It is a birthstone for March. In modern crystal traditions it is associated with grounding, strength and renewal, and it is often placed with the root and heart chakras. These are traditional beliefs, not claims of physical effect.
