I use chalcedony in many of Lila Clare Jewelry's handmade jewelry designs, and it’s my most popular gemstone. It’s a luminous stone, and universally appealing.

Chalcedony (pronounced “Cal-Said-Knee”) is a rock form of microcrystalline quartz, which means it’s made of super tiny quartz particles. This stone is partly transparent and naturally occurs in a variety of colors, such as blue, white, brown, gray, pink or orange. The aqua color that I use is achieved by heating treating or dying white or blue chalcedony.

Chalcedony can be found all over the world, including the United States. You may recognize the name of gemstones that are types of color-banded sub-types of chalcedony, such as agate, onyx, carnelian and petrified wood.

The use of chalcedony goes back thousands of years, and it’s believed that the name comes from the ancient Greek seaport, Chalcedon (now Turkey). Royal jewelers in ancient Egypt used chalcedony, which was often set in combination with Lapis. Chalcedony was often used in bowls, beads, signet rings and seals in biblical times. Romans used chalcedony for seals, amulets or signet rings. In the 1800s, chalcedony was used in the Mediterranean as gemstones for rings and beads. Victorians used chalcedony for carved cameos and engraved images. 

Chalcedony has many healing powers, and Native Americans used it to promote stability during spiritual ceremonies. It is a nurturing stone and helps eliminate any negative or unwanted energy, and balances the mind, body and spirit. I especially love chalcedony because it’s calming and instills a sense of peace and joy. I can feel that it’s grounding, much in the way being near water is centering.

You can find handmade chalcedony jewelry in Lila Clare Jewelry’s Joy Collection.