Aventurine is another semi-precious stone that offers a sparkle and beauty that is exquisite. It is a semi-translucent to opaque grown glass which is flecked with many small particles of chromic oxide and copper. It is also called sunstone and could fall under any one of the several feldspar or quartz varieties that is flecked with particles of hematite, mica and other materials. It has a hardness of 6.5 on the Moh's scale.
This stone is a chalcedony that has small inclusions of different shiny minerals which give the semi-precious stone a glistening effect that is also known as aventurescence. Its color essentially depends on what kind of mineral has been included in the stone.
The name aventurine has been derived from the Italian words "a ventura" which means "to cometh". This is actually an allusion to the fortunate discovery of the aventurine glass sometime in the 18th century.
The most common color that aventurine comes in is green; however, the stone could also be orange, yellow, brown, blue or even gray. The classic inclusion would be chrome-bearing fuchsite which is a kind of muscovite mica that could give a blue or silvery green sheen. The browns or oranges are attributed to goethite or hematite.
Aventurine has been believed to have the capacity of calming a troubled mind which could bring about inner peace. The semi-precious stone's strong green color lends itself to meditations for prosperity. It is also said to have the power of increasing confidence as well as gratitude and promoting positive attitudes and emotional tranquility. It is also known for maintaining the balances of the male and female energies.