Raw collectible minerals, pack of 4 stones of your choice or 100 g bag — LITHOS

Yes for 18 of the 19 materials offered: tourmalines, quartz, amethysts, corundum, apatite, lapis lazuli, agate, obsidian, sunstone, optical calcite, pyrite, kyanite, shungite, and yooperlite are raw natural stones, not polished. The only exception is opalite: despite its name, it is a man-made opalescent glass, prized for its blue reflections on a dark background and orange hues when backlit. We prefer to state this clearly, as many sellers present it as a stone. It remains interesting in an educational collection, precisely because it teaches how to distinguish a natural mineral from a synthetic material.

The 4-Stone Pack brings together four raw specimens that you choose yourself from the 19 minerals: ideal for starting a collection, comparing different families, or giving a personalized selection. The 100 g Bag contains several fragments of the same mineral, with a total weight of approximately 95 to 105 g. The number of stones in the bag depends on their size, which varies from one harvest to another: it is therefore not fixed. The bag is well suited for comparing several specimens, creating a decorative bowl, sharing stones among children during a workshop, or filling a display case.

First, select the 4-Stone Pack format, then choose your four minerals from the menus that appear below the format selector, one stone per menu. The 19 minerals in the collection are offered in each menu, and you can choose the same one several times: two amethysts and two pyrites, for example, or four different stones to cover several families. For a first pack, vary the selection: a quartz, a metallic mineral such as pyrite, an optical curiosity such as optical calcite or yooperlite, and a rock such as lapis lazuli. The size of each stone is not specified and varies from one mineral to another; if you are looking for a specific size, contact our customer service before placing your order.

The Mohs scale, proposed in 1812 by mineralogist Friedrich Mohs, ranks minerals according to their scratch resistance, from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond). A mineral scratches all those with a lower hardness. It is a relative and non-proportional scale: the difference between corundum (9) and diamond (10) is much greater than between talc (1) and gypsum (2). Several LITHOS stones are among the ten reference minerals: calcite (3), apatite (5), quartz (7), and corundum (9). You can therefore perform simple scratch tests at home.

Optical calcite, also known as Iceland spar, is a very transparent calcite that exhibits strong birefringence: a beam of light passing through it is separated into two beams that do not travel at the same speed or follow the same path. As a result, a line of writing placed under the crystal appears doubled. If you turn the stone, one of the two images rotates around the other. This phenomenon, described as early as the 17th century, played an important role in understanding the nature of light. It is one of the most spectacular experiments to perform with this collection.

No, no UV lamp is included. Yooperlite is a gray rock that looks plain in daylight; under an ultraviolet lamp with long waves (365 nm), the sodalite grains it contains become fluorescent, creating bright orange-yellow dots and veins. The effect is more intense in a dark room. A small 365 nm UV flashlight is usually sufficient. Never look directly at the UV source or point it at your eyes. For a more generous set, there is also a dedicated yooperlite sheet in our Le Labo universe.

A simple soft brush or dry cloth is enough to dust them. Avoid soaking them: some stones such as calcite or pyrite do not tolerate water, household products, or prolonged humidity well, and pyrite can tarnish in damp air. Store soft stones (calcite, apatite) separately from hard stones (quartz, corundum, tourmaline) to prevent scratches. A compartmented box, with a small label for each mineral, remains the ideal solution. After handling pyrite, remember to wash your hands.