Mahogany Obsidian Bracelet

Mahogany Obsidian often has sharp conchoidal edges when raw or knapped. Handle rough pieces with care and keep flaked edges away from skin.

Mahogany Obsidian is born the instant felsic lava meets air or water and cools too quickly to form crystals. Traces of iron oxide caught in the melt oxidize into the rich red-brown bands that thread through the black, giving the stone its namesake mahogany figure.

Mahogany Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass, a mineraloid rather than a true crystalline mineral. It is composed chiefly of silicon dioxide with inclusions of hematite and magnetite that produce its red-brown coloration. It is amorphous, breaks with a conchoidal fracture, and has a glassy vitreous luster.

• Obsidian takes its name from Obsius, a Roman explorer said by Pliny the Elder to have first carried the volcanic glass back from Ethiopia.
• Across Mesoamerica, obsidian was tied to the god Tezcatlipoca, whose name means 'Smoking Mirror,' and its polished surfaces were used as mirrors to see hidden truths.
• Folk tradition holds that the mahogany streaks are the earth's fire caught and cooled in stone, giving the piece its reputation as a warming, strengthening talisman.