Lava stone Bracelet

Lava stone is basalt - the rock that forms when volcanic lava cools and hardens at the surface. It is not a crystal or a gem but a volcanic rock, made of fine intergrown minerals, and the most common rock of the Earth’s surface and ocean floor.

Its character is the surface: a matte black, faintly porous texture pocked with small holes - vesicles, the cavities left where gas bubbles were trapped as the lava set. That texture makes the beads notably light, and gives them a soft, unpolished, organic look unlike any polished gem.

Mohs 5–6, softer than quartz, and porous rather than glassy. The beads are usually left in their natural matte state rather than polished to a shine - the raw volcanic surface is the point.

Asked often

What exactly is lava stone?
Basalt - lava that cooled and hardened at the surface. It is a volcanic rock, not a crystal or gem, and the most common rock on Earth’s surface.

Why is it so light, and full of holes?
The holes are vesicles - cavities left where gas escaped as the lava set. They make the stone porous and light, and give it its raw matte texture.

Is it dyed black?
Basalt is naturally dark grey to black. The matte beads are usually left in their natural state rather than polished or coloured.

How do I care for it?
Wipe with a soft, dry cloth. It is porous, so keep it from soaking and from oils and lotions that the pores can absorb. Keep the cord dry.

1. Worn on either wrist, over the hand, on a durable elastic cord.
2. Wipe with a soft, dry cloth.
3. It is porous - keep it from soaking, and from lotions and oils the surface can absorb.
4. Keep the cord dry; remove before washing, swimming, and bathing.

Lava stone is porous volcanic rock, so it is kept drier than a polished gem - clear of soaking and of anything the pores would draw in. Dry handling keeps the matte surface clean.

Dry cloth. Keep from soaking, oils, and lotions, which the porous surface absorbs. Remove before water.

• Material: Lava stone · basalt
• Origin type: Cooled volcanic lava
• Hardness: Mohs 5–6
• Character: Matte black · porous · light for its size
• Treatment: None · natural matte
• Band: Durable elastic cord
• Origin: Indonesia
• Care: Dry cloth · keep from soaking, oils, and lotions

Basalt is the rock of the Earth’s great lava landscapes: it built the columns of the Giant’s Causeway and the Deccan and Columbia plateaus, paved Roman roads as the hard-wearing stone silex, and was carved by the peoples of Pacific and volcanic regions into tools and figures. The most common rock of the planet’s surface, and one of the most worked.

For its origin in fire and the deep earth, lava stone has been carried as an earthen, elemental material across many cultures - named here as what people believed. The porous black surface is the whole of its character; what its fiery beginning suggests is the wearer’s to read.