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Tiffany Stone Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Tiffany stone is a gemstone often patterned with swirls or sections of purple, white, black, yellow, and violet-blue. The stone is mostly fluorite, but also has variable levels of other gemstones mixed in, such as quartz and opal. 

Some consider this gem a fluorite variety. However, because Tiffany stone has multiple minerals and mineraloids inside, it’s technically a rock, not a mineral like fluorite. 

Is Tiffany stone rare? Yes, this gem is rare and getting rarer. Part of the reason is that it only comes from one place. 

Where is Tiffany stone found, then? The main (some say only) source is Spor Mountain in Utah, USA. 

Besides its rarity, there’s plenty that make Tiffany stone gemstones unique. Come along as we cover Tiffany stone benefits, identification, history, and value!

What Is Tiffany Stone?

Tiffany stone is a semi-precious gemstone known by many names, some more whimsical than others, including:

• Purple Passion

• Ice Cream Stone

• Opal/Opalized Fluorite

• Porcelanite Jasper

• Purple Opal/Opalite

• Bertrandite

The last three names above are misnomers, as Tiffany stone isn’t a jasper, opal, or bertrandite mineral (though opal and bertrandite are in the stone). The most accurate names are “opalized fluorite” or “opal fluorite,” though even these names aren’t fully accurate. “Utah opalized fluorite” is perhaps the best name besides Tiffany stone.

Astrologically, Tiffany stone is a zodiac stone for Capricorn. Capricorn birthdays happen right after the winter solstice (December 21), and violet is considered the color of this time period.

Image: Tiffany stone rough under short-wave UV light

Tiffany Stone Specifications & Characteristics

What is Tiffany stone composed of? The gem is mostly fluorite and opal, but usually contains quartz, chalcedony, calcite, dolomite, bertrandite, beryl, rhodonite, and other minerals. The levels (and combination) of minerals can vary from one stone to the next.

Because the stone’s composition varies, some of its properties vary as well. Most notably, its Mohs mineral hardness can range from 4-7 depending on how much of its content is silica minerals.   

How can you tell Tiffany stone from other gems? Identifying real Tiffany stones on the market mostly comes down to cut and color. Given the stone’s scarcity, it’s usually cut to keep wasted material to a minimum. Therefore, Tiffany stone rough is often minimally cut and polished into freeform shapes resembling the original specimen.

Color-wise, Tiffany stone’s purple, violet-blue, and white hues blend into each other without harsh edges, like drops of food coloring on water. 

Pure opalized fluorite will have more defined edges between the colors. Another similar-looking stone, sugilite, will have deeper, stronger purple hues that cover more of the stone’s surface.

All of Tiffany stone’s properties are listed below:

• Mohs hardness: 4-7

• Color: Purple, blue, white, and/or violet-blue; Sometimes yellow, brown, pink, or black patches

• Crystal structure: None (Amorphous or mixed)

• Luster: Subvitreous, resinous, waxy, or greasy

• Transparency: Opaque with translucent portions

• Refractive index: 1.42-1.43

• Density: 2.09

• Cleavage: Perfect on [111] (but often unobservable)

• Fracture: Irregular/uneven or subconchoidal

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Often fluorescent (varies by composition); Medium to strong green and/or blue in LW-UV & SW-UV

Enough geology, what’s the symbolism behind Tiffany stone?

Tiffany Stone Meaning & History

Called the “Stone of Passion,” Tiffany stone represents enthusiasm, drive, and ambition. The gem also symbolizes dignity, magic, and devotion. In the Middle Ages, purple gems were used as protective talismans. 

Tiffany stones also honor various mythological goddesses. One is Ceridwen, the goddess of inspiration in Welsh mythology and ruler of transformation in Wicca. Another goddess Tiffany stone honors is the Hindu goddess Vac, who personifies speech and inspires creative expression.

How did Tiffany stone get its name? Let’s clear up the rumors upfront: the name doesn’t come from Tiffany & Co. Given their beautiful purple dishware, though, we wouldn’t blame you for making that mistake. 

The name’s true origin is uncertain. Some folklore says a Utah miner would bring the stone home to his daughter, Tiffany, and she inspired the name.

The Utah miner story makes sense, considering the locale’s exclusive claim to Tiffany stone. The specific mine is the Brush Wellman beryllium mine, plus a few nearby sites, though the company now goes by Materion.

Unfortunately, the mine doesn’t search for Tiffany stone to make gemstones anymore. When it started operating in the 1960s, it would use the rough (natural, raw material) for both Tiffany stone gems and beryllium ore. They’d also allow visitors to rockhound for the gem, but they’ve since closed it to the public. 

Today, the mine crushes almost all the rough for beryllium and is the only processed beryllium source in the USA. In fact, the Spor Mountain district currently produces 70 percent of the world’s beryllium!

Shifting from excavation to restoration, what are the healing properties of Tiffany stone?

Tiffany Stone Healing Properties

Tiffany stone’s colors and spiritual energies mean you can use it as a healing stone, like all gems! This stone brings the benefits of wisdom, spiritual connection, and serenity inherent to all purple gemstones.

This mystical gem is known for being a powerful spiritual stone for transformation, protection, and freedom to live life on your own terms.

More specifically, what is the Tiffany stone good for in physical, emotional, and chakra healing? 

Physical Healing

Some purported physical benefits of Tiffany stone include supporting the endocrine system (hormones), immune system, and blood circulation. Some say the stone’s high level of fluorite means it also helps with:

• Stronger joints

• Reducing vertigo & dizziness

• Faster recovery from illness & wounds

What about emotional Tiffany stone benefits?

Emotional Healing

Artists and small business owners know that making a career as a creative can take a mental toll, but Tiffany stone is here to help! The gem is said to be decluttering, both for organizing your physical space and clearing negativity from your mind. These qualities make the “Stone of Passion” the perfect companion for anyone trying to make their passion a career. 

Additionally, Tiffany stones can increase focus, mental fortitude, and ingenuity. Crystal healers also use the gem to support emotional expression and being more present. 

Chakra Healing

Energy healers use gemstones to open specific chakras, or energy points throughout your body tied to certain physical and emotional symptoms. Negative symptoms arise when a chakra is blocked, while positive symptoms occur when the chakra is open.

Tiffany stone is a chakra gemstone for the third eye (brow) chakra, located in the middle of your forehead. The third eye governs intuition, perception, and self-awareness.

If you feel constantly distracted, restless, or detached, your third eye may be blocked. Opening the chakra with Tiffany stone allows you to feel calm and trust your intuition.

Tiffany Stone Gemstone Properties

Being a rock instead of a mineral, as well as a very rare gem, makes Tiffany stone’s grading different from other gems. However, the categories of grading are similar: color, cut, and carat weight.

Color

Tiffany stone’s predominant color is purple, and most stones have multiple shades of purple alongside white or cream. However, the gem can also have hues like yellow, pink, brown, black, blue, and even orange.

Each color comes from the minerals inside the stone and their coloring agents. Fluorite is behind the purple hues. Pink hues are likely rhodonite and black usually manganese oxide. The other colors and attached minerals are harder to distinguish.

The varied swirling or veining patterns in Tiffany stone led to its delectable ice cream related monikers. Specimens with more varied coloring will usually fetch higher prices.

Cut

The potential for beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces makes Tiffany stone a gem cutter’s dream — should they be lucky enough to acquire a piece!

As mentioned earlier, the limited quantity of Tiffany stone means lapidaries (gem cutters) will choose the cut that wastes the least amount of rough. Therefore, Tiffany stone beads, slabs, and freeform cabochons are most common. 

Clarity

Most gems’ values decrease with more inclusions, but Tiffany stone’s inclusions are what make it what it is. That said, a greater diversity of different minerals in the stone give it a more interesting color palette, meaning higher value.

While Tiffany stone has translucent portions, it isn’t transparent enough to have a colored gemstone clarity grade.

Carat Weight

Given its rarity, larger Tiffany stones will be significantly more expensive than smaller stones, though they’re not widely available for purchase.

How does this unusual gemstone form?

Tiffany Stone Formation & Sources

At the Spor Mountain mine that produces Tiffany stone, you’ll find altered rhyolite tuff containing beryllium and other minerals. For reference, rhyolite tuff is a rock made of volcanic ash compacted together. 

The tuff comes as nodules, or small spheres of sedimentary rock with various minerals inside. These nodules are mostly silica (quartz) and fluorite, and these two minerals have more beryllium than the tuff around them. Usually, beryllium makes up about 1-2 percent of each nodule. 

The rhyolitic tuff is 2.6-5.3 million years old. The nodules are fine-grained (composed of tiny crystals compacted together). It likely started as a collection of carbonate mineral fragments. Fluorite and beryllium, along with various minerals, gradually replaced the carbonates. Bertrandite, the beryllium ore, actually occurs inside the fluorite as very tiny grains.

Mining Locations

Most gemologists claim the Spor Mountain Mining District in Utah is the exclusive, sole source of the gemstone. However, some say you can also find other Tiffany stone deposits scattered throughout Utah and Nevada, USA.

Regardless, the stone maintains its rarity. How does that rarity affect its price, though?

Tiffany Stone Price & Value

You won’t see Tiffany stones at many jewelry stores. Instead, the best place to get the gem is directly from a lapidarist, such as trade shows, craft shows, or online marketplaces like Gem Rock Auctions!

While the stone can be expensive, it’s lower in price than you might expect. You can find Tiffany stone cabochons weighing 30-60 carats for under $30-$50 each. Rough specimens are under $1 per carat at wholesale, ranging from $15-$40 each.

Tiffany stone jewelry is slightly more expensive, as the metals and setting materials add to the cost. Still, most jewelry is under $150!

Lastly, how do you care for a gemstone like Tiffany stone?

Tiffany Stone Care and Maintenance

When choosing jewelry, we recommend a Tiffany stone necklace or earrings over a ring. The gem’s vulnerability combined with the intense wear on a ring means the stone will become duller quickly. 

Because Tiffany stone contains beryllium (a toxic chemical, especially when breathed in), you should not handle raw, unpolished specimens without proper training and protection. Polished stones are safe to handle.

Cleaning Tiffany stone correctly is crucial to ensuring the gem lasts. Since it’s partly opal, it’s best not to submerge it in water. You can gently wipe dirt from the stone’s surface with a slightly damp microfiber cloth. Use a dry microfiber cloth (or dry portion of the same cloth) to fully dry the stone.

Keep Tiffany stone away from:

• Heat

• Prolonged, direct sunlight

• Cleaning products

• Submersion in liquids

Store your Tiffany stone jewelry or stones in a velvet pouch separate from other gems to avoid scratches.

Taste Life’s Sweetness with Tiffany Stone!

The sweetness Tiffany stone brings to your life, along with its delectable experience, truly reflects its “ice cream” moniker. Hopefully, more deposits will show up someday so everyone can have a piece of their own. For now, it’s best to find this gem for your collection as soon as you can! 

Alternatively, if Tiffany stone isn’t in your budget, you can opt for similar-looking gems like opalized fluorite, morado (purple) opal, or sugilite. Any of these purple gems will have you looking and feeling like royalty!

Buy Tiffany stone gemstones today!

Tiffany Stone