#Crystals101 – UV Light and Crystals

Did you know that a small percentage (15%) of crystals react under UV lighting?  They’re referred to as Fluorescent Minerals and very sought after by rockhounds.  Some crystal collectors have a whole room set up with UV lights just for these types of stones.  That would be awesome to see! 

So, when I heard about these amazing crystals, I just had to have my own UV light.  Easier said than done. ☹️😭 

I bought light after light and my crystals wouldn’t react.  I even bought one recommended to me by my crystal group.  Nope, still didn’t work.  I then bought one from an Etsy shop that sold crystals and it was the UV light they sold for their stones.  Still didn’t work.  I was ready to give up, thinking it was my bad eyesight or some such crap.  By this time, I’d already bought 4 different flashlights.  But Anna, my crystal guru, told me not to give up and try again. 

Now, the whole secret to UV reaction is shortwave vs longwave, which relates to 365mm or 395mm.  I had bought flashlights that were one or the other and none worked.  This time, I went after a flashlight that had both: The Darkbeam UV 365mm and 395mm.  And it worked.  Yay!  So if you need a UV flashlight, I do recommend it.

Which crystals react to UV lighting?  Good question.  Geology.com covers which ones will react and why the reaction works.  It’s an interesting read. 

This naturally led me to going through my crystal collection to find my reactive stones.  Here are some I found:

The Dino skull at the top of my post and this tower are Yooperlite.  This mineral can be found in Michigan and rockhounds can’t get enough of it.  It’s not that pretty of a stone, but under the UV.  Wow.  It fires right up. 

This is Ruby, a real Ruby!  It turns to a stunning hot pink under UV lights.  Doesn’t quite show up as bright pink on my phone’s camera.  Still, look at the difference. 

Since Ruby in Zoisite has Ruby in it, of course, it will react.  This is a narly looking skull. 

Lapis Lazuli is another highly sought after crystal for the UV reaction.  And it looks pretty under normal light too.  😁

This is volcano agate, a fairly recent discovery.  It emits an eerie alien green light under UV.  Otherwise, not a remarkable stone. 

This skull came out on Anna’s channel a few months ago and they called it Mysterious Agate as no one really knew what the composition was.  I was looking at it the other day and thought, Hmm, it looks similar to Volcano Agate.  So I put it under UV and it reacted.  Lesson here, check all your crystals, because you don’t know what “impurities ” might be lurking in them.

When I finally got a UV light that worked, I started testing it on crystals I had on my desk.  Boy was I surprised when my Yellow Fluorite lit up.  Wow.  Of course, after reading that article, I now know that fluorite is UV reactive.

This is a Watermelon Fluorite.  Look at that BLUE!  I’m in love!! 

And then this Fluorite with Pyrite inclusions.  So purple.

As I was flashing my light around my shelves yesterday, looking for reactive stones, I saw that this Carnelian Freeform turned green.  Green?  None of my other Carnelians changed color so I’m not sure what’s making this one react.  Since Carnelian is an Agate, maybe it has some Volcano it it?  Who knows.  But again, check your crystals to see if they will pop with UV colors. 

If you want more information about Fluorescent Minerals, here are some books you can check out.