Hematite Palm Stone

Hematite is iron oxide - Fe₂O₃ - the principal ore of iron and, polished, a dense silver-grey mineral with a metallic shine. It is the heaviest material in this range: lift it and the weight is the first thing you notice, the mark of so much iron.

Its defining tell is the streak. However silvery the polished surface, hematite drawn across unglazed porcelain leaves a red-brown line - the rust-red of iron oxide. That blood-red streak gives the mineral its name, from the Greek haima, blood.

Mohs 5–6, softer than quartz, and the bright polish can scratch or dull, so it is kept with a little care. Magnetic hematite sold in the trade is usually a man-made substitute - natural hematite is only weakly magnetic, if at all.

Asked often

Why is it so heavy?
Hematite is iron oxide - dense with iron, the metal’s principal ore. The notable weight in the hand is the surest sign of the genuine mineral.

Why is it called hematite if it is grey?
For its streak. Polished it is silver-grey, but drawn across rough porcelain it leaves a red-brown line - the rust-red of iron oxide. The name is from the Greek for blood.

Is it magnetic?
Natural hematite is only weakly magnetic, if at all. Strongly magnetic "hematite" pieces are usually a man-made magnetic substitute, not the natural stone.

How do I care for it?
Wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Softer than quartz at Mohs 5–6, so spare the polish hard knocks; keep it dry, as the iron surface can mark in damp.

1. Held in the palm - the weight is the first thing the hand notices.
2. Kept on a desk, or carried in a pocket set apart from harder things.
3. Wipe with a soft, dry cloth; keep it from damp, as the iron surface can mark.

Many traditions rinse or air their stones from time to time; hematite is kept dry, as the iron surface marks in damp. The rest is yours.

A polished stone to keep, softer than quartz at Mohs 5–6. Wipe with a dry cloth and spare the polish hard knocks; keep it from damp, as the iron surface can mark.

• Stone: Hematite · iron oxide
• Composition: Fe₂O₃
• Crystal system: Trigonal
• Hardness: Mohs 5–6
• Character: Silver-grey metallic · very dense · red-brown streak
• Treatment: None · natural (not magnetised)
• Form: Palm stone · shaped and polished
• Origin: Brazil
• Care: Dry cloth · keep from damp · spare hard knocks

Hematite is one of the oldest pigments used by humankind: ground to a red-brown powder it is red ochre, the colour of cave paintings tens of thousands of years old and of burials across the ancient world. The same iron oxide that shines silver in the hand coloured the first images people ever made.

Polished hematite was cut into seal-stones and mirrors in the ancient Mediterranean, and into mourning jewellery in nineteenth-century Europe. For the blood-red of its streak the stone was long associated with iron, strength, and the soldier - named here as what people believed.