Gold Obsidian Crystal Bracelet

Golden obsidian is the same volcanic glass as black obsidian, carrying a golden sheen. The shimmer comes from a single layer of microscopic gas bubbles or mineral particles, aligned flat as the lava flowed and froze; light striking that layer returns as a soft golden sheet.

The sheen lies in the glass, not on it - tilt the bead and the gold sweeps across, vanishing as the angle passes. In shade it reads as plain glassy black; in direct light it lifts to bronze-gold.

Like all obsidian it is volcanic glass, not a crystal - Mohs 5-5.5, brittle, breaking to a sharp conchoidal edge.

Asked often

What makes the golden sheen?
A flat layer of microscopic bubbles or particles aligned inside the glass as the lava set. Light reflects off them together and returns as a sheet of gold that moves with the angle - sheen, not surface.

Is the gold added or coated?
Neither. It is an optical effect of the glass’s own internal structure. There is no coating; the sheen is inside the stone.

Is it the same as black obsidian?
Yes - the same volcanic glass. Black obsidian is plain; golden obsidian carries the aligned layer that throws the sheen. Sun and shade show two different stones.

How do I care for it?
Wipe with a soft, slightly damp cloth and dry. Spare the beads hard knocks, which can chip the glass, and keep the cord dry.

1. Worn on either wrist, over the hand, on a durable elastic cord.
2. Move it through direct light - the gold sheen sweeps across and then vanishes.
3. Wipe with a soft, slightly damp cloth and dry.
4. Brittle as glass - spare the beads hard knocks, and keep the cord dry.

Many traditions rinse or air their stones from time to time; that is a matter of preference, and the rest is yours.

The elastic cord lasts longest kept dry - remove before swimming, bathing, or applying scent. Spare the beads hard knocks; do not soak.

• Material: Golden obsidian · volcanic glass
• Composition Silica-rich glass with aligned inclusions
• Hardness: Mohs 5–5.5
• Character: Black with a golden sheen
• Treatment: None · natural
• Band: Durable elastic cord
• Origin: Mexico
• Care: Soft cloth · spare hard knocks · keep the cord dry

Sheen obsidian comes from the great volcanic flows of Mexico, the same sources the peoples of Mesoamerica worked for blades and mirrors. The golden and silver sheens were prized by lapidaries for the way a plain black stone could hold a hidden light, revealed only by turning it.

For that hidden gleam, brought out only in the right light, the stone was read across cultures as one of things seen and unseen - named here as what people believed. The sheen is bubbles in glass; what it reveals is the wearer’s.