Crystal
A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions.Generally, fluid substances form crystals when they undergo a process of solidification. Under ideal conditions, the result may be a single crystal, where all of the atoms in the solid fit into the same lattice or crystal structure but, generally, many crystals form simultaneously during solidification, leading to a polycrystalline solid. For example, most metals encountered in everyday life are polycrystals. Crystals are often symmetrically intergrown to form crystal twins.Which crystal structure the fluid will form depends on the chemistry of the fluid, the conditions under which it is being solidified, and also on the ambient pressure. The process of forming a crystalline structure is often referred to as crystallization.

Diamond
Diamond is one of the two best known forms (or allotropes) of carbon, whose hardness and high dispersion of light makes it useful for industrial applications and jewelery. The other equally well known allotrope is graphite;but diamonds are specifically renowned as a mineral with superlative physical qualities. They make excellent abrasives because they can only be scratched by other diamonds, which also means they hold a polish extremely well and retain luster. About 130 million carats (26,000 kg) are mined annually, with a total value of nearly 9 billion US$.The name "diamond" derives from the ancient Greek adamas (αδάμας; "impossible to tame"). They have been treasured as gems since their use as religious icons in India at least 2,500 years ago—and usage in drill bits and engraving tools also dates to early human history. Popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of improved cutting and polishing techniques, and they are commonly judged by the "four Cs": carat, clarity, color, and cut. Nearly four times the mass of natural diamonds are produced as synthetic diamond each year, though these are typically classified with poor-quality specimens that are suitable only for industrial-grade use.Most natural diamonds originate from central and southern Africa, although significant sources of the mineral have been discovered in Canada, Russia, Brazil, and Australia. They are generally mined from volcanic pipes, which are deep in the Earth where the high pressure and temperature enables the formation of the crystals. The mining and distribution of natural diamonds are subjects of frequent controversy—such as with concerns over the sale of conflict diamonds by African paramilitary groups. There are also allegations that the De Beers Group misuses its dominance in the industry to control supply and manipulate price via monopolistic practices.

Fossil
Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other traces such as footprints. The totality of fossils and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record. The study of fossils is called paleontology.The word fossil is derived from the Latin word fossus, which means "having been dug up".

Fossil Fish of the Genus Knightia
Fossilization is actually a rare occurrence because natural materials tend to decompose. In order for an organism to be fossilized, the remains normally need to be covered by sediment as soon as possible. However there are exceptions to this, such as if an organism becomes petrified or comes to rest in an anoxic environment such as at the bottom of a lake. There are several different types of fossils and fossilization processes.Fossils usually consist of traces left by the remains of the organism itself. However, fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as the footprint of a dinosaur or reptile. These types of fossil are called trace fossils.Tentaculites found in a State Park in Albany, New York, believed to have existed over 360 million years ago.
Enlarge Tentaculites found in a State Park in Albany, New York, believed to have existed over 360 million years ago.The oldest known structured fossils are most likely stromatolites. Believed to be formed by the entrapment of minerals by mucous-like sheets of cyanobacteria, the oldest of these formations dates from 3.5 billion years ago. Fossilized deposits of heavy carbon (acritarchs) that are also indicative of earlier life (3.8 billion years ago) are currently proposed as the remains of the earliest life on Earth.

Lapidary Materials
A lapidary (the word means "concerned with stones") is an artisan who practices the craft of working, forming and finishing stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials (amber, shell, jet, pearl, copal, coral, horn and bone, glass and other synthetics) into functional and/or decorative, even wearable, items (e.g. cameos, cabochons, and more complex facetted designs). The adjectival term is also extended to refer to such arts. Diamond cutters are generally not referred to as lapidaries, due to their highly specialized techniques which are required to work diamond successfully.The arts of a sculptor or stonemason are generally too broad in scale to fall within the definition, though chiseling inscriptions in stone, and preparing laboratory 'thin sections' may be considered lapidary arts. The term is most commonly associated with jewelry and decorative household items (e.g. bookends, clock faces, ornaments, etc.) A specialized form of lapidary work is the inlaying of marble and gemstones into a marble matrix, known in English as "pietra dura" for the hard stones like onyx, jasper and carnelian that are used, but called in Florence and Naples, where the technique was developed in the 16th century, opere di commessi. The Medici Chapel at San Lorenzo in Florence is completely veneered with inlaid hard stones. A lapidary specialty developed from the late 18th century in Naples and Rome are the "micro-mosaics" assembled out of many minute slivers of stone to create still life, cityscape views and the like.
In China lapidary work specializing in jade carving has been continuous since the Shang dynasty.There exists three broad categories of lapidary arts. These are the procedures of tumbling, cabochon cutting, and faceting. The distinction is somewhat loose, and leaves a broad range within the term cabochon.At present most lapidary work is accomplished using motorized equipment and resin or metal bonded diamond tooling in successively decreasing particle sizes until a polish is achieved. Often, the final polish will use a different medium, such as tin oxide, glasitite or cerium(IV) oxide. Older techniques, still popular with hobbyists, used bonded grinding wheels of silicon carbide, with only using a diamond tipped saw. Diamond cutting, because of the extreme hardness of diamonds, cannot be done with silicon carbide, and requires the use of diamond tools.There are also many other forms of lapidary, not just cutting and polishing stones and gemstones. These include; casting, faceting, carving, jewelery, mosaics (eg. little slices of opal on potch, obsidian or another black stone and with a clear dome (glass or crystal quartz) on top. There are lapidary clubs through-out the world and in Australia there is an annual gemshow, the Gemborree which is a nation-wide lapidary competition.

Meteorites
A meteorite is a small extraterrestrial body that reaches the Earth's surface. While in space these bodies are called meteoroids, and they are called meteors after entering Earth's atmosphere but before reaching the surface. These are small asteroids, approximately boulder-sized or less. When it enters the atmosphere, air drag and friction cause the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball or shooting star.More generally, a meteorite on a celestial body is a small body that has come from elsewhere in space.

Mineral Specimen
Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. The term "mineral" encompasses not only the material's chemical composition but also the mineral structures. Minerals range in composition from pure elements and simple salts to very complex silicates with thousands of known forms (organic compounds are usually excluded). The study of minerals is called mineralogy.To be classified as a "true" mineral, a substance must be a solid and have a crystal structure. It must also be an inorganic, naturally-occurring, homogenous substance with a defined chemical composition. The chemical composition may vary between end members of a mineral system. For example the plagioclase feldspars comprise a continuous series from sodium-rich albite (NaAlSi3O8) to calcium-rich anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) with four recognized intermediate compositions between. Mineral-like substances that don't strictly meet the definition are sometimes classified as mineraloids. Other natural-occurring substances are Nonminerals. Industrial minerals is a commercial term and refers to commercially valuable mined materials (see also Minerals and Rocks section below).

Shells

An animal shell, the hard, rigid outer covering of an animal such as a mollusk or a turtle.The hard outer layer of some plant fruiting bodies such as nuts.A type of user interface in computer software, often an operating system shell, such as a Unix shell command line interpreter in the Unix operating system or the DOS Shell in MS-DOS. See shell (computing).An electron shell (energy level), consisting of a number of electrons in an orbital around an atomic nucleus.The short name (and Brand) of the Royal Dutch Shell energy multinational, and its US subsidiary Shell Oil Company.A projectile with explosive charge, shot from a gun; typically shells are larger than bullets and shot from larger guns. See shell (projectile).In physics, see On shell and off shell.A structural form, usually made of concrete, that principally derives its strength by virtue of its shape. The term is derived from the primary usage in the context of nature. For example, the shell of an egg, though very thin, is difficult to break because of its shape.A long, narrow, rowed watercraft.

Stone Carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest cultures indulged in some form of stone work. Carving stone differs from quarrying stone in that it is the act of shaping or incising the stone, whereas quarrying is the activity of acquiring useful stone, usually in blocks, from geological sources.The term stone carving is of particular significance to sculptors being a reference to a particular way of producing sculpture, as opposed to modelling in clay or casting. The term also refers to the activity of masons in dressing stone blocks for use in Architecture, Building or Civil Engineering. It is also a phrase used by archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists to describe the activity involved in making petroglyphs.

Tektites
Tektites (from Greek tektos, molten) are natural glass objects, up to a few centimeters in size, which — according to most scientists — have been formed by the impact of large meteorites on Earth's surface, although a few researchers favor an origin from the Moon as volcanic ejecta.Tektites cannot be found everywhere on Earth's surface. They are only found in four strewnfields which are associated with impact craters. Only the largest, geologically youngest tektite deposit in Southeast Asia, called the Australasian strewnfield, has until now no known impact crater associated with it. This is probably due to the fact that even very large impact structures are often not easy to detect. For example, since the Chesapeake Bay impact crater (today the largest known impact structure of the United States and associated with the North American tektite strewnfield) is covered by sediments, it was not detected until the early 1990s. Also, the bigger the strewnfield, the bigger the area to search for the crater. Since every year several new craters are identified, this is not really regarded as problem by proponents of the impact theory, except for the purported Australasian crater, a feature that would be less than a million years old and thus easily visible. This crater, if it exists at all, has not been located.