Tektite

What causes the color: Dark brown-to-black color comes from iron content in the original terrestrial rock that was melted; the color is essentially inherited from whatever surface rock was struck and liquefied by the impact.

How it forms: Forms in seconds during a large meteorite impact: the shock heat instantly melts surface rock, which is ejected into or above the atmosphere and cools into glassy droplets before falling back to Earth, sometimes hundreds or thousands of kilometers from the crater itself.

Treatments & imitations: Genuine tektites are never treated, since they're valued specifically as an unaltered natural record of an impact event; man-made glass ('obsidianite' or synthetic glass) is a common intentional imitation sold as tektite.

Real vs. fake: Genuine tektites show characteristic surface sculpting — pits, grooves, and flow lines from their brief flight through the atmosphere — and lack the gas bubbles typically visible in man-made glass imitations under magnification.

Historical use: Tektites have been picked up and sometimes used ornamentally by people living within their strewn fields for a very long time, though systematic scientific study only began in the 19th century once their genuinely extraterrestrial-impact origin was worked out.

Metaphysical tradition: Modern crystal-healing tradition frames tektites as powerful grounding-yet-cosmic stones, an association drawn directly from their real, scientifically documented origin in a violent meteorite impact rather than from any older cultural practice.

How to use it: Usually kept in their natural, unpolished form to preserve the impact-sculpted surface texture that proves authenticity; wearing one as a simple wire-wrapped pendant is a common modern use.

Cleansing & care: At Mohs 5.5–6.5, tektites tolerate normal handling and a gentle water rinse; avoid abrasive cleaning that could wear down the natural surface texture that distinguishes genuine material from glass fakes.