Malachite

Raw, it sheds green dust.

Copper carbonate, Mohs 3.5, soft and soluble and genuinely unfit for a water bottle. The Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow and the Russian tsars panelled rooms in it, both safer uses than the one currently trending. Polished and sealed it is fine to hold. Raw, it sheds green dust.

Dry cloth, sealed piece, no exceptions.

The Egyptians ground it for eyeshadow and the Russian tsars panelled whole rooms in it, so its material history is genuinely long. It is also copper carbonate at Mohs 3.5, soft and soluble, which makes the water-bottle trend the worst idea in the shop. Dry cloth, sealed piece, no exceptions.

Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow, tsars panelled rooms in it.

The Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow and the Russian tsars panelled entire rooms with it, which tells you it has always been a surface first. It is a soft copper salt, so acid dissolves it and raw material sheds green dust. Nothing about it belongs in a water bottle.

Every slice cuts through the centre of something.

The bands curve because malachite grows in bubbled masses, so every slice cuts through the centre of something. It was worn in Europe as a child's amulet and ground in Egypt into kohl, which kept it close to a face for millennia. It is a soft copper salt and it does not go in water.

It has always been a display material. Treat it as one.

The Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow and the Russian tsars panelled whole rooms with it, so it has always been a display material. It is also a soft copper salt. Never soak it, never sand it, never let it near a water bottle. Dry cloth, and keep it off anything you eat from.

The green dust coming off it is a copper salt.

Never put it in a water bottle. Malachite is copper carbonate at hardness 3.5, water dulls and dissolves the surface, and the green dust that comes off raw material is a copper salt. Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow, which is a historical fact rather than a recommendation.

Never soak it and never drink from it.

Copper carbonate cut across the grape-like masses it grows in, which is why the green bands always curve around a centre and never run straight for long. Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow and the Russian tsars panelled entire rooms in it. It is a soluble copper salt, so never soak it and never drink from it.

It has no business in a water bottle.

Copper carbonate in concentric green bands, ground into Egyptian eye paint and Renaissance pigment, and panelled across entire rooms by the Russian tsars. It is soft, soluble and reactive, so it has no business in a water bottle. Cut or chipped, it sheds green copper dust onto whoever is holding it.

Never soak it, and never put it in a water bottle.

Copper carbonate, soft, and it powders green under a fingernail, which is the same green the Egyptians ground into eyeshadow. Katanga in the DR Congo supplies most of it now, and the tsars once panelled entire rooms in Ural material. Never soak it, and never put it in a water bottle.

The green streak is confirmation and hazard at once.

Soft at Mohs 4, and the bright green streak it leaves is confirmation and hazard at the same time. Never in a water bottle, never dry-sanded, and wash your hands after raw material. The Egyptians ground it into eyeshadow and the Russian tsars panelled whole rooms with it.

It has no business anywhere near a water bottle.

Copper carbonate, soft, and soluble enough that it has no business anywhere near a water bottle. The concentric green rings come from slicing through botryoidal masses, which is why the bands always curve around a centre and never run straight for long. The Egyptians ground it into eye paint.

Water dulls it on contact.

Copper carbonate, soft enough to scratch on a keyring and soluble enough that water dulls it on contact. The concentric rings are cross-sections through grape-like masses, which is why they always curve. Never soak it and keep it out of every water bottle.

Malachite is carried for transformation, protection and boundaries. Copper carbonate in concentric green bands, ground into eyeshadow by the Egyptians and into pigment by everyone since.. Tradition links it to the heart, solar-plexus chakra.

Frequently stabilised with wax or resin because it is soft and porous. Reconstituted malachite — crushed powder in resin — is widely sold and shows unnaturally regular banding and a slightly plastic feel.. Scratch it in a hidden spot: malachite is soft (3. 5, 4) and leaves a bright green streak.. Frequently stabilised with wax or resin because it is soft and porous.

COPPER carbonate. Copper salts are toxic if ingested, and malachite is soft, water-reactive and easily powdered. NEVER make an elixir, never soak it, never put it in a water bottle, never grind or sand it dry. Raw and freshly cut material sheds green copper dust, wash hands after handling. Polished, sealed stones are safe to hold.