The title “Bloodstone” actually refers to two completely different materials depending on what part of the world you are from. Both are inexpensive opaque material and both are cut in slabs, domes, beads and free forms. They are both available as carvings, worn as pendants or earrings. In the Americas, the name Bloodstone refers to dark green Jasper interspersed with “droplets” of deep red Jasper, which can be interpreted as little drops of blood. It is a tough and hardy material most often used in signet rings for both men and ladies.

The other contender for the title is actually called Hematite which is Latin for Bloodstone. It is a gray metallic material, an ore of iron which is easily detected with a magnet. It’s called Bloodstone because when it is ground into a powder and wetted, it turns the water bright blood red. This poisonous oxidization is what some people have attributed to the historic Nile turning red. There were massive deposits of Hematite in the tributaries above Egypt. When an earthquake dislodged a deposit, it ran into the water, turning it red and deadly to the inhabitants downstream. Hematite has also been called “Black Alaskan Diamond” although it is neither black nor a Diamond.