A selection of the most beautiful stones and minerals (20 photos)

Many stones and minerals on planet Earth are about 4 billion years old. This indicates that they were formed almost simultaneously with the emergence of the planet itself. Despite their long existence, their structure and varieties have remained virtually unchanged, but there are also younger representatives of the mineral world.

Opals come in various shades, gradients





In the Dominican Republic, you can find the semi-precious mineral larimar. It can be light blue, greenish-blue, white and dark blue



And this stone is a bizarre shape of a Labrador dog's head. It was found in the province of Labrador. The rock is called "labradorite"





What would you like if you didn't make a bouquet for your beloved? Amethyst cluster from Uruguay. And it will never fade



You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but it's a hard Mesolithic mineral



Labradorite has a special feature - an internal rainbow glow



Indian chalcedony: the main thing is not to put it in a vase for fruits



Tourmaline crystals from Brazil



Pyrite is translated from Greek as a stone that strikes fire



Argillite seems to be nondescript, but the flower-like celestite crystals give it a special charm



It would be just nickel, if not for the inclusions of olivine crystals



Hemimorphite from Mexico: why not replace snowflakes for a warm climate



Rainbow obsidian is impregnated with a special magic



The mineral rhodochrazite is known as the rose of the Incas



A type of quartz crystal, one of the most common minerals in the earth's crust



The first mentions of agate date back to the 3rd century BC.



An opal quartz druse, although you might think that it couldn't have been done without a photo editor



Kunzite is an expensive mineral that is mined mainly in Afghanistan. Named after scientist George Kunz, who first described it in 1902



Rhyolite on the outside, opal on the inside: you wouldn't know it was a hard rock



Hercynite