Carved Quartz Bowl

Examples of rock crystal objects date back to 75, 000BC. They are the earliest talismans known to man. Every civilization has attributed magical powers to quartz crystals. To the ancient Japanese it symbolized faith, perseverance, infinity, and purity. Quartz crystal balls were brought to Europe from the Near East by the Crusaders who credited them with the ability to cure diseases.

The early Greeks assumed quartz crystals were ice frozen so hard it wouldn’t melt. They called the crystals "krystallos," their word for ice and the origin of our word crystal. Quartz crystals really were the original "crystals."