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Chalcedony has a waxy lustre, and may be semitransparent or translucent. It can assume a wide range of colors, but those most commonly seen are white to gray, grayish-blue or a shade of brown ranging from pale to nearly black. Agate, Carnelian, Chrysoprase, Heliotrope and Moss Agate are all varieties of Chalcedony.

Native American Indians believed chalcedony was a sacred stone and used in the spiritual ceremonies of the tribe. It is thought to increase vitality, stamina, and endurance and to promote emotional balance and charity while relieving melancholy, fever, gallstones, and eye problems. Chalcedony and its named varieties are well represented in various birthstone charts and can be found for all the months except January, April, and November. It is also listed as a birthstone for all the Zodiac signs except Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio and Sagittarius. The term chalcedony is derived from the name of the ancient Greek town Chalkedon in Asia Minor.

These beads are sculpted from glass rods over an open flame using traditional Venetian lampwork techniques. The glass is wound round a metal rod, which forms the base of the bead where other colored glass is added to make different designs.

Corals are part of a group of animals called Cnidaria (nid-AIR-ee-a), also called Coelenterata (sel-EN-ter-AH-ta), which includes sea anemones, corals, jellyfish, and hydras. All of these animals are soft bodied and have multiple arms or tentacles, with which they grab food from the surrounding sea water. All Cnidaria (including corals) live in water and most are marine animals. The soft, jelly-like body of an individual cnidarian animal is called a polyp.

Coral polyps secrete a rock-like skeleton of calcium carbonate around them. Calcium carbonate is also the dominant consituent of the rock, limestone. Because modern corals live in large colonies, these skeletons can become quite large, sometimes forming reefs. When the polyp dies, its soft tissue decays, but the hard skeleton is left behind. The hard skeleton of ancient corals is what is preserved as a fossil.

All modern corals belong to the order Scleractinia (SCLER-ac-TIN-ee-a). In the past, fossils indicate that there were two other orders of corals, which are now extinct. The order Rugosa was dominated by solitary corals in which each coral polyp had its own skeleton. Rugose means wrinkled or rough, and the outer surfaces of most rugose coral skeletons has a wrinkled appearance. Because some of the solitary rugose corals formed horn-shaped skeletons, they are called horn corals. Some Rugose corals also formed colonies and coral heads. The order Tabulata consisted entirely of groups of coral animals that lived in large colonies with a shared skeleton. These colonial corals grew in mounds, branching shapes, as chain-like shapes, and even in shapes resembling pipe organs.

Both types of corals are abundant in Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Mississippian rocks in Kentucky, and are rarely found in Pennsylvanian rocks in Kentucky. Perhaps the most famous exposures of fossil corals in the world are the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville, Kentucky. Millions of solitary and colonial coral fossils can be seen in the rocks exposed in this protected area. The fossil beds are part of Falls of the Ohio State Park in Indiana, although most of the fossil beds are actually in Kentucky, as the Kentucky border extends to the north shore of the Ohio River. Collecting is not allowed at the park, which is also a World Heritage Site and Federally Protected Waterway.

Natural markings, wrinkles, and varying shades are proof of authenticity. Leather pieces, including cording and suede cording can be cleaned with a lightly damp cloth. The use of saddle soap with cause the leather to darken and can strip the leather of oils. Use saddle soap with caution. You may be able to restore the natural oils with leather restoration oils. The real key to keeping your leather looking its best is to avoid drying it out. Scratches from normal wear are natural and add to the broken-in look. The more you wear the leather the better it will hang around you neck.

The mineral chiastolite is a variety of andalusite with the chemical composition Al₂SiO₅. It is noted for distinctive cross-shaped black inclusions of graphite. In areas around Georgetown, California, metamorphosed sediments contained andalusite and chiastolite in a graphite rich metasediment. The chiastolite crystals have been pseudomorphicallyaltered by a mixture of muscovite, paragoniteand margarite. The calcium rich margarite tends to form along the graphite rich crosses or bands within the chiastolite. Mineralogically the occurrence is important because all three white mica phases are present in an equilibrium assemblage. Chiastolite is also called "Cross Stone".

Imperial Jasper is one of the fine jaspers on the market today. It is found over a wide area in Guadalahara, Mexico. There are many varieties and each "lot" that come into the United States has some different characteristics from previously imported material. This jasper forms as nodules and usually has a soft white chalky exterior. The colors are typically shades of pink, red, and green.

Fine Jaspers are defined by the presence of a particular pattern that results from a common set of circumstances in the formation process. Not all pieces of jasper from the above areas exhibit this pattern and each type may have other patterns common or not common to the others. The pattern that is common to each deposit is referred to by several names and appears in the surface of the rock as a series of overlapping oval shapes. These shapes have been called "eggs", rolls", orbs", "Bruneau Pattern", and "orbicular" pattern to name a few. Picture Jaspers and other categories of jasper do not exhibit this pattern.

This stone is not true turquoise, but actually a natural jasper found in Africa. It has a matrix structure similar to that of turquoise, and is a light bluish-green. The matrix is usually dark or black. It is an interesting substitute for a true turquoise.