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A crystal material collection / 041

The Crystal Cabinet

Ten stones, the places they come from & why they shine.

A cabinet of colored stones, each traced to a place: a geode cave in Uruguay, a desert mine in Arizona, a palace room in St Petersburg. Follow the color from the stone into rooms you could live in.

Explore the stones

10 stones / 12 birthstones / 5 ways of shining

01CitrineNovember02Tiger’s Eye03AmethystFebruary04TurquoiseDecember05Rose Quartz06Bohemian GarnetJanuary07Jade08Malachite09Amber10OpalOctober
Plate 041 / Ten stones, one cabinet

01 / The collection

Ten stones. Ten rooms.

Follow a stone back to its place, then into a room.

Lemon plaster walls, a honey linen sofa, an agate-topped table, a dark basalt floor and a window onto green trees.November birthstoneBrazil / Study 042CitrineHoney light, basalt & the November birthstone.A cognac leather sofa, a golden-brown stone coffee table, ochre curtains and a brass lamp in a walnut-panelled room.South Africa / Study 043Tiger’s EyeOchre, cognac & a band of moving light.Aubergine plaster walls, lavender linen, a velvet headboard and an amethyst geode on a basalt plinth.February birthstoneUruguay / Study 044AmethystGeode violet, grey agate & the February birthstone.Pale plaster, a red sandstone floor, a blue-green velvet sofa, a turquoise tile fireplace and a view of saguaro hills.December birthstoneUnited States / Study 045TurquoiseSky blue, native copper & the December birthstone.Pink plaster walls, a raffia headboard, undyed silk bedding, a dark wood bedside table and a glowing pink lamp.Madagascar / Study 046Rose QuartzHazy pink, raffia & white clay.A garnet-red wall, grey plaster, a dark green table, red glass goblets and candles by a snowy window.January birthstoneCzech Republic / Study 047Bohemian GarnetPyrope red, ruby glass & the January birthstone.A wall of glossy green tile, a pale stone tub, a celadon vase in a niche and a glowing paper lantern.China / Study 048JadePale celadon, spinach green & ink.Deep green walls, a malachite-topped table, crimson silk chairs, a gilded chandelier and a marble fireplace.Russia / Study 049MalachiteBanded green, gilt & crimson silk.Honey-gold plaster, a gilt mirror over a walnut console, a cognac velvet sofa and candles.Russia / Study 050AmberBaltic amber, beeswax & gilt.A room carved into pink and cream banded sandstone with a skylight, a sunken linen sofa and an opal-colored glass panel.October birthstoneAustralia / Study 051OpalPink sandstone & a flash of color.
A lunar companionMoonstone & SilverMother-of-pearl, mineral blue and a light beneath the surface, from the Lunar Cabinet.

02 / By month

A stone for every month.

Following the birthstone lists published by the GIA.

November birthstone

Topaz and citrine

Honey light, basalt & the November birthstone.

Open the Citrine study

03 / Why they shine

Light, structure and time.

Five effects, each explained in its own study.

Chatoyancy / Tiger’s eye

Parallel fibres inside the stone reflect light as one bright band that slides across the surface as the stone moves.

Open the Tiger’s Eye study

04 / The palette

Six colors, one atmosphere.

Screen colors are authored interpretations. Material photographs show surface character; they are not calibrated color samples.

05 / Play with the composition

Every stone has a light of its own.

Choose how much pale jade, rose, gold, blue, malachite and violet your composition holds, then move from a matte finish to a luminous one. The cabinet and room stay authored references; the live pattern responds to your palette.

Pale oak cabinets with shallow glass drawers of crystals, a writing table with an amethyst geode and a tall window.
Live pattern & proportion study

Palette proportions / Total 100%

Surface finish

Starting points

The finish and palette proportions respond to your settings. The cabinet and room images are fixed interpretations.

Surface finish: Satin · Shadow depth: 12% · Pale Jade: 30%; Rose Quartz: 15%; Golden Tiger’s Eye: 10%; Spiderweb Turquoise: 10%; Malachite: 15%; Deep Amethyst: 20%

06 / Translate

From a room to an interface.

The room
Pale oak cabinets with shallow glass drawers of crystals, a writing table with an amethyst geode and a tall window.

The interface

THE MINERAL ROOM

Objects, rooms & materials

A cabinet of colored light.

An illustrated journal of stones, the places they come from and the rooms they inspire.

A cave-like hollow lined with deep violet amethyst crystals inside a grey agate rind.
Amethyst geode / Banded malachite / Precious opalCollection 041

The same palette. Different roles.

Materials

The ingredients.

Deep violet amethyst crystals inside a grey agate rind.
Amethyst geodeViolet crystals inside a grey agate rind: color that grew in a cavity of cooled lava.
Polished malachite with bold concentric green bands.
Banded malachiteConcentric green bands that record how the stone grew.
White opal with flashes of color beside boulder opal with a blue-green seam.
Precious opalFlashes of blue, green and orange that change as you move.

An imagined setting.
A contemporary interpretation,
with references kept beside the study.

View sources & interpretation →

Take away

Take the study with you.

Sources & interpretation

An illustrated collection of color and material studies inspired by gemstones and the places associated with them. The cabinet, rooms and arrangements are newly authored and do not depict particular specimens, mines or homes. The optical notes describe how each material is commonly explained; they are not gemological identification, and nothing here makes claims about healing or wellbeing.

The palette follows the authored material references in this collection. Room, object and material imagery were created for this study. These are imagined settings, with no affiliation to the fictional interface brands.

The controls explore screen composition, not physical pigment recipes or material measurements. Image rights · Image permissions

About this study

The palette, the materials, and what you can take away.

Topic: About this study4 Core Inquiries