Jet

A hard, compact black lignite — fossil wood — that takes a mirror polish.

Jet specimen — Photo: Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify jet

Jet black, light and warm to the touch.
Brown streak.
Smells like coal when a hot needle touches it.

Often confused with

Obsidian
Obsidian is heavier, harder and cold to the touch.
Compare side by side
Coal
Coal is dull and crumbly.
Compare side by side

Where it's found

Whitby, England
Asturias, Spain
Turkey

Uses

Jewelry and carvings.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Whitby jet became fashionable mourning jewelry after Queen Victoria began wearing it.

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