Synthetic Beads
Synthetic beads are man-made materials sold alongside gemstones, and this collection gathers the ones we stock: opalite, goldstone, cat's eye, terahertz, mystic aura and impression jasper. None of them are natural stone. The collection holds every man-made bead we carry in a range of finishes and shapes for bracelets, necklaces and earrings.
Appearance
Opalite is a milky glass that glows blue against a dark background and shows a warm orange when light passes through it, in imitation of opal. Goldstone is glass packed with copper crystals that glitter; it is made in reddish brown, blue, green and purple. Cat's eye is a bundled fiber optic glass with a sharp moving line of light, made in many colors. Terahertz is a silvery metallic bead made of polished silicon. Mystic aura beads are natural stone, usually quartz or agate, with a thin metal vapor coating that gives a rainbow or grey iridescence.
Impression jasper, also sold as aquaterra jasper, is a dyed and stabilized soft rock whose turquoise, pink and green colors are added. Glass beads take a high polish and have no grain, so faceted cuts are crisp and matte finishes are even. Glass sits around 5.5 to 6 on the Mohs scale and chips on hard knocks; coated beads can wear through at the holes and edges over time. Store all of these apart from quartz and harder stones.
Formation and origin
Each of these has a known recipe rather than a geological origin. Opalite is a modern opalescent glass made to imitate opal. Goldstone, or aventurine glass, was first made in Venice in the 1600s by cooling molten glass with copper salts so that metallic copper crystallizes inside it. Cat's eye glass is drawn as thousands of parallel fibers that are fused together and then cut across the grain. Mystic and aura coatings are applied by vapor deposition of titanium, gold or other metals onto polished natural beads. Impression jasper is a trade name for dyed, resin-stabilized rock rather than a jasper.
Pairings
Dragon's blood jasper beads: green and red natural stone that gives opalite and goldstone an earthy anchor.
Prehnite beads: a translucent pale green that glows alongside opalite in the same soft, watery range.
Red creek jasper beads: muted reds and mustards that keep a design natural when a glittering goldstone accent is added.
Lore and Meaning
Goldstone has long been traced to a legend that Venetian monks made it by accident, which is why it is sometimes called monk's gold, though records show the Miotti glassmakers of Venice held the recipe, and in modern crystal traditions it is associated with ambition and confidence. Opalite is a recent material, said in the same traditions to support calm and transition. These are traditional beliefs, not claims of physical effect.
