How to clean it
Warm soapy water. Fades in sunlight over time.
Green, also blue, peach, grey
Aventurine
The birthstone for May.
Is Aventurine a birthstone?
Yes. Aventurine is the alternative birthstone for May.
Properties
Composition
Quartz with platy mineral inclusions, usually fuchsite mica
Hardness (Mohs)
6.5–7
Crystal system
Trigonal
Colour
Green, also blue, peach, grey
Mined in
India, Brazil, Russia, Tanzania
Worth knowing
The glitter is aventurescence — light bouncing off flat mica inclusions suspended inside the quartz.
History
Named from the Italian a ventura, "by chance", after a glassmaking accident in Murano.
Practical
Caring for Aventurine
How to tell it is real
Goldstone — a manufactured glass with copper flecks — is often mistaken for aventurine. Goldstone glitter is uniform and dense; aventurine sparkle is scattered and irregular.
One general rule covers most mistakes: never store stones loose together. Diamond at 10 on the Mohs scale scratches everything else you own, and it does not need much contact to do it.
What that hardness means in practice
Softer than household dust. Better in earrings or a pendant than in a ring, where it takes constant knocks.
Traditional associations
Aventurine is traditionally the traditional stone of opportunity and taking a calculated risk. In chakra systems it is placed at the Heart, and in elemental correspondence it is assigned to Earth.
These are cultural associations recorded across various traditions, not claims about physical effects. The composition and hardness above are measurable; this paragraph is folklore, and worth reading as such.
Questions
What is Aventurine made of?
Quartz with platy mineral inclusions, usually fuchsite mica, crystallising in the trigonal system.
Which month is Aventurine the birthstone for?
May.
Where does Aventurine come from?
India, Brazil, Russia, Tanzania.
How do I clean Aventurine?
Warm soapy water. Fades in sunlight over time.
How can I tell if Aventurine is real?
Goldstone — a manufactured glass with copper flecks — is often mistaken for aventurine. Goldstone glitter is uniform and dense; aventurine sparkle is scattered and irregular.
Can I wear it every day?
At 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale, not in a ring. Keep it to pieces that take fewer knocks.