Bloodstone

Bloodstone, also called heliotrope, is an ornamental stone made of dark green chalcedony mixed with jasper carrying red spots. The green comes from very fine mineral inclusions, and the red spots from concentrations of iron oxide minerals, most likely hematite. True Indian bloodstone is found mainly in the Deccan Traps of India. In Türkiye the word “kan taşı” (“blood stone”) means hematite in the dictionary; bloodstone is a different stone.

Jewellery: good pieces are cut as cabochons for rings and cufflinks; lower-grade material is tumbled and polished. History: bloodstone has been a popular stone for about two thousand years. Carvings have been made in which the red spots are placed to look like drops of blood running down the head of Christ.

It has a hardness of 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale. It scratches glass and steel; a steel knife cannot scratch it. Its specific gravity is 2.6–2.7 g/cm³.

Its best-known localities: Deccan Traps, India; Isle of Rum, Scotland; Madagascar; Brazil; Australia.

It has a dark green body scattered with bright red spots; the name comes from this look of blood stains. Its hardness is 6.5–7: it scratches glass, and a steel knife cannot scratch it. It is opaque to semi-translucent; it takes a glassy shine when polished, and a broken surface is curved like a shell (conchoidal). Setonite (“African bloodstone”): an ornamental stone made of red jasper, grey chalcedony and pyrite; it is not bloodstone.

On the “street to diamond” value ladder it sits on step 5 of nine: Ornamental stone. The value of bloodstone depends on how deep and even the green body is, how vivid and well spread the red spots are, how clean the stone is and how well it is polished. Good pieces are cut as cabochons for rings and cufflinks, while lower-grade material is mostly tumbled and polished. It is a plentiful ornamental stone.

According to Pliny the Elder, magicians used bloodstone as a stone of invisibility; in the 4th century Damigeron wrote that it brought rain and eclipses of the sun, served for divination, and preserved the wearer’s health and youth. Ancient Roman soldiers are said to have carried the stone in the belief that it slowed bleeding; in India it is also reported that the stone, dipped in cold water, was laid on wounds to stop bleeding. According to a Christian tradition, the red spots are drops of Jesus’s blood that fell on the stone at the crucifixion, and for that reason the stone was regarded as a Christian amulet. Today crystal-therapy practitioners regard bloodstone as a lucky charm that gives strength and endurance, and say it is held by athletes. There is no scientific evidence that bloodstone stops bleeding, preserves health and youth, or gives strength. According to George F. Kunz, any cold object could make blood clot, so the stone has nothing to do with it. The red spots are iron oxide, not blood. Serious bleeding needs medical help, and trying a stone can delay it. This section reports beliefs; it is not health information. There is no scientific evidence for these claims and no stone replaces medical treatment.