But do you know the difference between a crystal and a mineral? Or maybe he thought there weren’t any at all. A crystal is any solid that has an organized structure. this means that the atoms are placed at very precise distances and angles from one another, unlike glass, for example, where the atoms are in a more or less random arrangement. Minerals, on the other hand, are naturally occurring inorganic substances that have crystalline structures. So it is a prerequisite to be a crystal to be a mineral. therefore, it can be said that all minerals form crystals.

With over 4,000 naturally occurring minerals in the world, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most captivating. Here are 18 of the most beautiful crystals and minerals, for you to feast your eyes on.

1. Olivenite crystals

Olivenite is a copper arsenate mineral and crystallizes in the monoclinic system. the piece shown in this photo has formed on Conicalcite. As its name suggests, it is olive-green in color, varying in hue from yellow or brown, greenish-gray, greyish-white, or light green in transmitted light. Most commonly olivenite occurs as globular aggregates of needle-like crystals, these fibrous forms often have a velvety luster; sometimes it is laminar in structure, or soft and earthy.

Credit: László tóth

2. Agate stone

Agate is a common rock formation, belonging to the quartz family, under the chalcedony group. They are found in a variety of colors and are common in volcanic rocks throughout the world, where they fill in veins or cracks in the rock. Lace agate is a variety that displays a lacy pattern with shapes such as eyes, swirls, bands, or zigzags. The stone is usually red and white in color, but is also seen to exhibit combinations of yellow and gray. Currently, the main sources of agate in the world are Brazil, India and the United States.

Credit: CrystalWerkz (pinterest)

3. Grape Agate

Botryoidal purple chalcedony is the actual name for this mineral, while grape agate is the trade name. Botryoidal means small, round, sphere-shaped crystals that have formed together naturally. the name “Grape Agate” alludes to their purple color and how they form in clusters that resemble clusters of grapes. these “grapes” are tiny, measuring between 2 and 8 mm wide and some specimens can appear in various colors such as white, grey, green or blue.

Credit: @amarisland

4. Rainbow Fluorite

Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride. Pure fluorite is colorless and transparent to both visible and ultraviolet light, but appears as a colorful mineral due to impurities. Rainbow Fluorite shows a combination of colors inherent to fluorite crystals, such as purple, blue, green, clear, and yellow, in one colorful crystal. It appears streaked and varies from transparent to opaque.

Credit: Ryan Gooding

5. Apophyllite (in Stilbite host)

the name Apophyllite refers to a specific group of phyllosilicates, a class of minerals. It is derived from the Greek “apophylliso”, which means “it flakes off”, a reference to the tendency of this class to crumble when heated, due to the loss of water. Apophyllites are generally found as secondary minerals in vesicles in basalt or other volcanic rocks. these minerals are quite widespread, with specimens coming from some well-known mineral localities around the world, such as Jalgaon in India, the Harz Mountains of Germany, Mont Saint-Hilaire in Canada, and Kongsberg in Norway.

Credit: Mineral Wonders

6. Clinoclase

Clinoclase is a rare secondary copper mineral and forms needle-like crystals in the fractured weathered zone above copper sulfide deposits. It is named from the Greek words “klino” meaning “slant” and “klasma” meaning “fraction” in reference to the inclined division planes. Clinoclase is vitreous, translucent dark blue to dark blue-green or greenish-black, and appears blue-green in transmitted light. The shape of crystals is rare, and the mineral is usually needle-shaped or tabular as rosettes, and radial fibrous spherical aggregates as crusts and coatings.

Credit: László tóth

7. Red fox agate

Red Fox Agate is a rare and geologically unique geode from a remote part of the Argentine Andes, believed to be volcanic in nature. Its bubbly inner surface consists of botroydial hematite, which is then surrounded by agate. Its outermost layer is UV reactive and when placed under fluorescent lighting, the glass glows colors of lime green.

8. Aragonite

Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common crystalline forms of calcium carbonate found in nature. the piece in the photo shows aragonite sprays in clay and is viewed under fluorescent lighting. It is typically found in Molina de Aragón in the Province of Guadalajara in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, for which it received its name in 1797. It is formed by biological and physical processes, including precipitation from marine and freshwater environments. Aragonite can be columnar or fibrous, occasionally in helicitic branching forms called flos-ferri (“iron flowers”).

Credit: László Kupi (finemineralphotography)

9. Red spessartite garnet

Spessartite garnet is an orange to reddish-brown gemstone that belongs to the large and varied species of garnet gemstones. The garnet group can be classified into two main classes, namely pyrospitus (aluminum) and ugandite (calcium) garnets. The name, “spessartine” originates from the Bavarian word, “Spessart”, which means “forest”. Spessart is a mountain range in the German states of Bavaria and Hesse where deposits of spessartine garnet were found in the 1880s.

10. Malachite

Malachite is a mineral that forms shallow within the Earth, in the oxidation zone above the copper deposits. Rarely found as a crystal, however, the crystals are typically acicular to tabular in shape and bright green in color, translucent, and with a vitreous luster. Malachite has been used as a pigment for thousands of years. This mineral is an excellent material for producing a powdered pigment, as it can be easily ground into a fine powder. It was one of the oldest known green pigments used in paints, and its green color does not fade over time or when exposed to light.

Credit: Matteo Chinellato

11. Smoky Quartz Cluster

Smoky quartz is the dark form of quartz ranging in color from light gray to yellowish brown to dull black. It is found in many parts of the world where quartz is found, but mainly in Brazil, Scotland (UK), parts of the Swiss Alps, Australia, and Madagascar. Smoky Quartz ranges in clarity from nearly complete transparency to nearly opaque brownish-grey or black crystal. It gets its color from the radiation of colorless quartz while the crystal is still forming in a semi-aqueous solution, and the presence of sodium and aluminum in its composition.

12. Green’s Peril

Veszelyite is a rare secondary copper-zinc mineral found in the oxidation zones of base metal deposits. Veszelyite crystals are typically emerald green, blue, or a mixture of the two. they can be found as small, shiny clusters that are scattered over other minerals or as crusts. In rare cases, they can be found as dense crystal aggregates. Within the hemimorphite zone of the Palabanda Quarry, located in the Bouenza Department of the Republic of the Congo, irregularly dispersed formations of Veszelyite were discovered.

13. Radial Annabergite crystals

Annabergite is an arsenate mineral consisting of a hydrated nickel arsenate, which crystallizes in the monoclinic and isomorphic system with vivianite and erythrite. It was named by Henry J. Brooke and William Hallowes Miller in 1852 after one of the cotype localities, Annaberg, Saxony, Germany. Annabergite is bright green in color or can be light gray to light apple green or white; it can also be pale pinkish red when rich in cobalt. Its characteristic color is easily detectable and was used to detect veins of nickel-bearing ore. It is often found as a green alteration layer on top of other nickel minerals.

Credit: László tóth

14. Wulfenites

Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral, most often found in the form of thin tabular crystals with a square or octagonal shape and very narrow middle section. It can also present as earthy and granular masses. Crystals can be very flaky and brittle and are often found in lamellar aggregates. Wulfenite can be bright orange-red to orange-yellow, and sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form, it is sometimes called “yellow lead ore.” Wulfenite is named after Franz Xavier von Wulfen (1728-1805), an Austrian mineralogist.

15. tourmaline (with lepidolite)

Tourmaline consists of a large group of boron silicate minerals. These minerals share a common crystal structure and similar physical properties, but their chemical compositions vary greatly. therefore, tourmaline occurs in more colors and color combinations than any other mineral group. Large, well-formed tourmaline crystals can form in cavities and fractures during hydrothermal activity, which means that when hot waters and vapors carry the elements needed to form tourmaline into pockets, voids, and fractures, this offers an open space for the growth of crystals.

Credit: Anton Watzl Minerals

16. Red beryl

Red beryl is an extremely rare variety of beryl that gets its red color from trace amounts of manganese. the Utah Geological Survey estimated that one red beryl crystal is found for every 150,000 gem-quality diamonds. Red beryl is a rare mineral due to its formation requiring a unique geochemical environment. First, the element beryllium must be present in large enough amounts to form minerals; second, there must be a source of manganese available at the same time and place; Third, the correct geochemical conditions must prevail for beryllium, manganese, aluminum, silicon, and oxygen to crystallize into red beryl.

Credit: Arkenstone

17. Dioptase

Dioptase is a rare mineral that forms as a secondary mineral in the oxidized zone of copper sulfide mineral deposits and is found mainly in desert regions. It can be transparent to translucent, has a vitreous to sub-adamantine luster, and is brilliant emerald-green to bluish-green in color. this copper cyclosilicate mineral is very brittle and samples must be handled with great care. As such, it should never be exposed to ultrasonic cleaning or the fragile gem will break. As a ground pigment, dioptase can be used for painting.

Credit: Arkenstone

18. Rainbow Obsidian

Rainbow Obsidian, also called Heaven’s Eye, is a black or dark brown obsidian that forms when molten lava oozes from the Earth’s core to the surface and solidifies into a beautiful glass of fire and earth. The stone appears black at first glance, but when polished and exposed to bright light, it shows iridescent bands of red, blue, gold, purple, or green. These beautiful rainbow colored layers are caused by the refraction of microscopic bubbles and nanoparticle inclusions of the mineral pyroxene.