Goldstone glitters like a night sky full of copper stars, and it is one of the few stones in a crystal shop that will tell you honestly it is not a stone at all. It is glass, made by suspending tiny crystals of metallic copper in molten silica and cooling it slowly, a technique perfected in seventeenth-century Venice by the Miotti family of glassmakers. The legend that monks invented it by accident is charming and probably false. Red or brown goldstone is the original; blue and green goldstone use cobalt or chromium glass around the same copper sparkle. Because it is human-made, some people dismiss it, and because it is beautiful and inexpensive, most people do not. At Plentiful Earth we carry goldstone in all three colors as tumbled stones by the pound and as beaded bracelets, and we tell you exactly what it is.
What You'll Find Here
Red goldstone. The classic warm copper-brown, sold as tumbled stones by the pound and as eight-millimeter bead bracelets. The glitter is brightest in this version.
Blue goldstone. Deep midnight blue with copper stars, the one most often compared to a galaxy. Tumbled stones by the pound and a beaded bracelet.
Green goldstone. A dark forest green with the same sparkle, the rarest of the three, sold as tumbled stones by the pound.
What Is Goldstone Used For?
Crystal lore treats goldstone as a stone of ambition and confidence, and the reasoning is straightforward: it is glass, an element of earth transformed by fire and human skill, full of copper, which is the metal of Venus and of conducting energy. Red goldstone is used for drive, vitality, and the sacral and root chakras. Blue goldstone is a favorite for wishes, night work, and the third eye, and it is often given to someone reaching for a big goal. Green goldstone is used for growth and prosperity. All three are popular with children and with anyone who finds a glittering stone easier to love than a plain one.
Goldstone is glass, about 6 on the Mohs scale, non-porous and safe in water, unaffected by sunlight, and easy to clean. It can chip if dropped on a hard floor.
Explore Related Collections
For natural stones with a similar sparkle see sunstone and aventurine, whose glitter is what goldstone was invented to imitate, and pyrite for metallic gold. Browse our gemstone bracelets, tumbled stones, and crystals under five dollars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is goldstone a natural stone?
No. Goldstone is a manufactured glass containing tiny copper crystals. It has been made since the 1600s in Venice and is now produced in several countries. We sell it as what it is.
What is the difference between red, blue, and green goldstone?
All three contain the same copper glitter. Red goldstone is copper in clear glass, so the copper color shows through. Blue and green goldstone use cobalt- or chromium-tinted glass, giving a dark background with copper stars.
What does goldstone mean spiritually?
Ambition, confidence, and vitality. Red goldstone is used for drive and the lower chakras, blue for wishes and the third eye, and green for growth and abundance.
Can goldstone go in water?
Yes. It is glass and completely stable in water, salt, and sunlight.
Does goldstone have any energy if it is man-made?
Crystal lore is divided. Many practitioners work with it happily on the grounds that glass is melted earth and copper is a conductor. Others prefer only natural minerals. Both views are common, and the stone is beautiful either way.
Is goldstone the same as sunstone?
No. Sunstone is a natural feldspar with copper or hematite inclusions. Goldstone is glass made to resemble that glitter. Sunstone is the natural original, goldstone the human tribute.
