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Halite Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

岩塩の宝石：特性、意味、価値など

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Halite is just salt in its natural form. As a crystal, it usually occurs colorless or white, but it can be other pretty colors, too. 

You may not have heard of halite crystal, but you’re definitely familiar with rock salt, right? 

While it’s a very common mineral, halite is rarely faceted as a gemstone. 

Besides making your food taste better, what is halite used for?

Interestingly, the crystal boasts some pretty cool healing abilities. Known as a purification stone, it’s believed to cleanse the body and enhance positive vibrations. The mineral also has some surprising industrial uses! 

Curious to learn more about halite’s story? You’re sodium lucky! (First and only salty pun, I promise). Keep reading about halite’s properties, meanings, uses, value, and more in our Halite Gemstone Guide! 

About Halite

We know that salt is everywhere, but how rare or common is halite? That depends. While halite is pretty abundant, some of its colors (like pink or blue) are harder to come by. 

Although halite isn’t a traditional zodiac stone, its crystals are considered incredibly supportive of Cancer and Pisces. Pink halite (along with peridot) is also the Chinese zodiac birthstone for the year of the monkey (for those born in 1968, 1980, and 1992).

Since halite is often colorless, you might think it could be a good alternative to diamonds. However, in addition to its difficulty in being faceted, a few other properties might make you think otherwise.

For one, halite lacks the brilliance and fire signature of diamonds. It’s also significantly softer and dissolves easily. In contrast, diamonds are insoluble and known for being the hardest gemstones. 

In fact, you’ll rarely find halite used in jewelry at all. In crystal form, it’s mostly ornamental — popular for display in collections and home decor.

Now how do you distinguish halite from other gems? It's mineral traits will you everything you need to know. 

Halite Characteristics & Specifications

Halite (sodium chloride) comes from the Greek halos, meaning “salt,” and lithos meaning “rock.” That’s because it’s literally the mineral form of sodium chloride, a.k.a. rock salt, making the halite formula also NaCl. 

The mineral group halite belongs to is the Halides or Halogenides. These minerals combine with halogen elements (boron and nitrogen). Other examples include fluorite, sylvite, and borax.

Halite isn’t a very durable mineral, either. Defining 2.5 on the Mohs mineral hardness scale, it’s as hard as a human fingernail. 

Here’s an overview of halite’s mineral data:

• Mohs hardness: 2.5

• Color: Colorless, white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, or blue

• Crystal structure: Cubic/isometric

• Luster: Vitreous (glassy)

• Transparency: Transparent to translucent

• Refractive index: 1.54

• Density: 2.16

• Cleavage: {100} Perfect, {010} Perfect, {001} Perfect

• Fracture: Brittle

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Fluorescent (Short UV: red, green (organic inclusions) orange, Long UV: red, green orange)

• Pleochroism: Weak to unobservable

So how do you identify halite among other similar-looking crystals? By tasting it, of course!

But don’t just shove halite in your mouth like candy. Instead, moisten a finger and brush it against the specimen. Then taste your finger — if it’s salty, you know it’s halite. 

As such a popular mineral, it’s no surprise that halite also has a pretty rich history.

Halite History & Uses

Ever wonder where the idiom “not worth a pinch of salt” comes from? It originates from salt being used as a currency by ancient civilizations. 

Greeks used to trade halite in exchange for slaves. The Romans used it to pay soldiers. Even the Great Wall of China benefited from rock salt sales during construction.

Interestingly, halite was even one of the main causes leading to the end of European monarchies. 

Recorded uses of the mineral date back as far as 2,700 BC. Some early Chinese manuscripts over 4,700 years old detail over 40 different types of salt.

As a representation of purity, halite has also played a significant role in many religious ceremonies spanning multiple cultures. You’ll find over 20 references to rock salt in the Bible alone. 

Another famous example of halite’s ceremonial use comes from ancient Egypt. Large quantities of the mineral were used for mummification (the conservation of the bodies).

Today, besides cooking, halite rock salt is used commercially in:

• Food preservation and processing

• Melting ice on roadways

• Chemical industry feedstock

• Agricultural salt

• Water treatment

• Health and wellness treatments

Metaphysically, what are the benefits of halite?

Halite Healing Properties

Most crystals can be used as healing stones to support your physical, emotional, or spiritual wellness. 

Halite uses its energy to balance and purify your body at all levels. As mentioned earlier, various cultures have used it for ritualistic purification traditions for centuries. 

So how does halite aid your mind, body, and spirit? 

Physical Healing

There’s a reason you see so many people sporting salt lamps in their homes, and it’s not just because they look pretty. The mineral is believed to cleanse the atmosphere of indoor pollutants and harmful electromagnetic emissions. 

Similar to how it detoxes the space around you, halite can also remove blockages within your physical body. It’s said to be particularly beneficial to those with asthma, allergies (especially from animals), hay fever, and mold-related illnesses. 

Emotional Healing

Emotionally, halite is said to clear emotional turmoil or imbalance. It’s believed to relieve mood swings and reduce negative attitudes. 

Like other pink gemstones, pink halite encourages peace, self-love, and inner clarity. 

On the other hand, blue halite is thought to promote intuition, awareness, and psychic abilities. This type of halite can allow you to look deep within yourself to find ancient solutions to present-day problems.

Chakra Healing

Halite’s purification abilities also make it a powerful chakra stone for harmonizing several of the seven chakras (energy centers).

White or colorless halite is attuned to the heart chakra, your hub of unconditional love. Halite balances this chakra, allowing you to feel surrounded by love, compassion, and joy — fortifying your connections to the world around you.

Pink halite activates the solar plexus chakra responsible for confidence and self-esteem. Its energy inspires self-acceptance, improving control over your life and decisions.

Although most blue gems are linked to the throat chakra, blue halite instead attunes to the third eye chakra. This is because of its associations with celestials and psychic perceptions. The mineral is believed to balance your third eye, opening lines of communication with your spirit guides. 

Phew! That’s a lot of chakra balancing! 

Next, how much is halite worth? It all comes down to grading.

Halite Gemstone Properties

When appraising gemstones, experts evaluate different characteristics of every mineral. The halite properties they assess to determine value are color, cut, clarity, and weight. 

Color

Commonly, halite colors vary from colorless to white, the purest form of halite.

Impurities and inclusions (like clastic sediment particles) can make the mineral appear yellowish-white, yellow, orange, reddish, or brown. 

Some hues are harder to come by and more sought-after. For instance, pink halite is rare but not as rare as blue halite. These colors, in particular, tend to fetch higher prices. 

Cut

Faceted halite is quite valuable because this mineral is rarely available as a faceted gem. Halite’s hardness and solubility make it challenging to cut into popular gemstone shapes and cabochons.

Instead, you’ll usually find the mineral sold in raw (uncut) form. 

Clarity

Many halite gems have eye-clean clarity (i.e. no visible inclusions to the naked eye). In lower-quality gems, impurities can make the stone appear cloudy or grainy. 

Some halite contains fluid inclusions preserving ancient microbes. These specimens are extremely valuable and highly desired by collectors.

Carat Weight & Size

You’ll often find halite’s weight marketed in grams or carats. 

When cut or faceted, halite rarely exceeds a few carats. 

In contrast, rough halite can be very large, weighing as much as several pounds. They’re also widely available, with prices fluctuating according to other factors, like color and clarity.  

Moving on, what type of rock is halite found in?  

Halite Formation & Sources

Halite typically occurs in areas where arid climates and seawater combine. As temperatures go up, the salt water evaporates, leaving behind a saline film. This eventually becomes a large salt deposit known as an evaporite.

Marine evaporites form when ocean water becomes trapped in a gradually drying pool. Non-marine evaporites usually form in very dry inland areas. Both of these evaporites often contain repeating layers of halite, gypsum, anhydrite, and, less frequently, other halides, like sulfates or borates.

Halite can also form in non-arid climates. In this case, it occurs in the form of deep, underground deposits. 

Evaporation at salt springs, where salty water falls out of the ground in salt deposits and precipitates as rounded globular masses, also produces halite.

Geographically, where is halite found?

Mining Locations

Although halite is common worldwide, prime specimens are more scarce. 

One of the most prominent halite deposits in the world is the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan. 

Himalayan rock salt (the kind you’ll find in Himalayan salt lamps) is halite from Punjap, Pakistan.

Other notable localities where excellent halite specimens have occurred include:

• Argentina

• Austria

• Bolivia

• France

• Germany

• Iran

• Poland

• Sicily

• United States 

Ready to budget for halite? Then it’s time to discuss pricing.

Halite Price & Value

Although some halite colors and designs fetch higher prices, the mineral’s abundance makes it a relatively accessible crystal for almost every budget. However, top specimens will garner higher prices.

Rough halite usually costs around $0.30 to $0.70 per gram. You can find lower-end specimens for as little as $0.07 per gram. Pink specimens can start at about $1 per gram, and blue specimens can start at about $2 per gram. 

Since faceted halite is extremely rare, these gems generally start at about $35 per carat, reaching prices as high as $300 per carat. 

Cabochons are almost as hard to come by as faceted halite. They generally start at about $20 per carat, but you can find lower-quality specimens for as low as $7 per carat.

Halite jewelry isn’t very popular due to the gem’s fragility. However, it does exist. 

You can find some halite pendants costing between $5 and $60. Higher-end specimens featuring pricier alloys could run you as much as $170. 

Beaded bracelets average between $5 and $40. Halite rings are also rare, but you can find a select few under $100. 

More into clearing your home’s vibes? Halite lamps purify the air and put you in a good mood. Depending on the design, they can cost anywhere from $20 to $120. 

You wouldn’t want to damper that good mood by ruining your halite, would you? So let’s wrap our guide up with gemstone care! 

Halite Care and Maintenance

Halite is highly soluble, dissolving in water, ammonia, ethanol, glycerol, and other solutions. Instead, use acetone or a halogenated solvent like methylene chloride to clean it. Gently brush away impurities with a soft toothbrush and dry your halite thoroughly before storing away from moisture and excessive light.

Halite jewelry should always have protective settings and be removed before cleaning or doing anything too rigorous — otherwise, you risk damaging the fragile stone. 

Give Flavor to Life with Halite!

Who would have known that rock salt had a double life as a beautiful and transformative semi-precious gemstone? (Well, we kind of did, but we’re crystal-obsessed).

This common and underappreciated crystal isn’t just tasty — its purifying energy and stabilizing vibrations have been respected for centuries. Perhaps it will grant you the clarity you’ve long been seeking.

Ready to add some halite to your crystal collection?

Buy halite and other gemstones today!