The Journal · Singapore
Notes from the Gallery
Short reads on minerals, gemmology, and the stories behind the specimens — how they form, where they come from, and what to look for as a collector.
Citrine
Why Most "Citrine" Was Once Amethyst
The golden quartz hides a quiet disagreement between mineralogists and the gem trade — and knowing which "citrine" you're holding changes what you've actually bought.
Emerald
The Trapiche Emerald — A Wheel Inside the Stone
A rare Colombian emerald grows a six-spoked wheel of dark carbon inside the green — a pattern that records the exact moment its own growth was interrupted.
Amethyst
How an Amethyst Geode Forms
The giant violet cathedrals begin as nothing at all — an empty pocket swelling inside altered volcanic rock, then filled drop by drop. The leading explanation is stranger than the textbook one.