Carnelian is an inexpensive gemstone. It is usually cut as cabochons, or used for beads and cameos. It is common to find carnelian in antique jewelry. Carnelian can range in color from reddish orange to brownish, yellow, red, or pink. The various shades of red depend on the amount of iron oxide present in each stone. Stones can be faintly banded, or uniform in color. Carnelian rates a.6.5 on the
hardness scale, and is transparent to sub translucent. It is often confused with
sard, however sard's color is never as intense as carnelian's. Most of the carnelian found on the market today is stained
chalcedony from
Brazil or Uruguay. Stones are usually heat treated to enhance their color. Carnelian can be found in
India,
Japan, Madagascar,
Russia, Poland, Iceland, Slovakia,
Peru and Romania. Major deposits are found on the lower Narbada river, in western India; Queensland,
Australia; Bohemia, in the Czech Republic; Franche-Compte, in
France; the Black Forest and Bavaria, in Germany; Cornwall, England, and Ratnapura, in southwest Sri Lanka. In the United States, carnelian is found in Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Tennessee and Washington. The very best stones however, come from India, where they are transformed from brown to red by being placed in the sun.