About
Most content about stones on the internet is written to sell something: either the stone itself or the “healing” claims attached to it. This project does the opposite. It explains the stones of nature, from the most ordinary pebble to the most precious diamond, with no commercial aim, based on scientific sources and in plain language.
Our principles
- No sales, ads, sponsored content or affiliate links.
- Every fact rests on a source; sources are listed at the end of each page.
- No room for health or “energy” claims that lack scientific support.
- No prices; instead we explain what makes a stone valuable.
- Localities are shown at regional level; we do not encourage unauthorised collecting or damage to nature.
- Visitors are not tracked; no cookies are used.
How is the content made?
Pages are drafted from open data sources (the IMA mineral list, Wikidata, USGS, publications of geological surveys). AI tools also help with drafting. Every page shows its status at the bottom: “Draft” pages have not yet been reviewed by a geologist or mineralogist. As reviews are completed, pages are marked “Reviewed” and “Verified”. If you spot a mistake, please use the “Report an error” link on each page.
About the images
Stone illustrations are generated by computer from each stone’s colours and shape. Real photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and are chosen only among freely licensed files (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA); each photo shows its author, licence and source. Photos remain under their own licences.
Data sources and licences
| Source | Used for | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| IMA–CNMNC List of Minerals | Valid mineral species, formulas | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
| Wikidata / Wikipedia | Name matching, basic properties | CC0 / CC BY-SA |
| USGS | Mineral deposits and commodity data | Public domain |
| OpenStreetMap / OpenFreeMap | Base map | ODbL |
| Natural Earth | World land areas | Public domain |
| Wikimedia Commons | Stone photographs (author and licence under each photo) | CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA |
| Mindat.org | Linked only; its data is not copied | — |
Contribute
The project is open source. Content suggestions, corrections and code contributions are welcome on GitHub.
Licence
Texts are shared under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0), code under the MIT licence.