Natural Howlite Hand Carved Crystal Heart

A heart worked in howlite. At 15 inches and 4 g it wants a shelf of its own rather than a desk corner.

Howlite is a soft borate mineral — around 3.5 on the Mohs scale — which is why it can hold the fine detail you see here and also why it wants gentler handling than quartz. The grey webbing is natural veining that formed as the nodule grew.

A carved heart lives or dies on symmetry and on the cleanness of the cleft. There is no detail to distract the eye, so the stone's own pattern does all the work.

Material 100% natural howlite
Size 15 × 15 × 10 in
Weight 4 g