Aventurine is a form of quartz, characterized by its translucency and the presence of platy mineral inclusions. These give it a shimmering or glistening effect termed named as ‘aventurescence’.

The most common color of aventurine is green, but it may also be orange, brown, yellow, blue, or gray. A variety of mica is the classic inclusion and it gives a silvery green or blue sheen. Hematite gives it an orange color and goethite the brown color.

The name aventurine derives from the Italian “a ventura” meaning “by chance”. This is an allusion to the lucky discovery of ‘goldstone’ or ‘aventurine glass’ in the 18th century. Goldstone is now a common imitation of aventurine and sunstone.

Goldstone is distinguished visually from the latter two minerals by its coarse copper flecks dispersed within the glass in an unnaturally uniform manner. It is usually a golden brown, but may also be found in blue or green.

The majority of green and blue-green aventurine originates in the vicinity of Mysore and Madras in India. Creamy white, gray and orange material is found in Chile, Russia and Spain.

Most material is carved into beads and figurines with only the finer examples fashioned into cabochons and set into jewels. A cabochon, is a gemstone which has been shaped and polished as opposed to being faceted. The resulting form is usually a convex top with a flat bottom.

Cutting an cabochon is usually applied to opaque gems, while faceting is usually applied to transparent stones.