Dalmatian Jasper Bracelet A

A bracelet of dalmatian stone beads on elastic — cream and grey speckled with black.

• Bead diameters: 4, 6, 8 or 10 mm
• Bracelet length: 18–19 cm
• Elastic mount

Two small corrections worth making

It is not a jasper. Despite being universally sold as dalmatian jasper, the stone is not a jasper at all — it is an igneous rock rich in feldspar and quartz. Mineralogists generally prefer the name dalmatian stone for exactly this reason. It is a trade name that stuck.

The black spots are not tourmaline. This is repeated constantly in crystal shops and it is not right. Analysis has identified the dark inclusions as arfvedsonite, an amphibole mineral. Black tourmaline and arfvedsonite are quite different minerals; the confusion appears to have started somewhere in the trade and been copied ever since.

Neither correction makes it a lesser stone. It is a handsome, hard-wearing, cheerfully speckled rock that looks like nothing else — and it is nicer to know what it actually is.

Mohs 6 to 7, so durable, and the colours are natural and do not fade.

No health claim for any mineral is authorised or supported by evidence, and none should replace medical care.