Rocks and Minerals

Rocks and minerals display many different characteristics. This has led to them being prized for a variety of uses, such as marble for sculpture and iron for tools. Coventry watchmakers used hard wearing diamonds as parts in watches. Some minerals are ground into powder to make pigments for paints. You can see some of these uses in our History, Elements, Sculpture and Art galleries.

Gems stones have always been in demand for jewellery. Egyptians wore necklaces of decorative lapis lazuli and carnelian beads. Red garnets featured in Anglo-Saxon jewellery as found in the Staffordshire Hoard. The Victorians used highly polished black jet for mourning jewellery.

Gem stones have a permanent appeal. Their attractive colours and patterns are clearly visible once polished and shaped. These are some modern examples from our museum shop.  

What the curator says:

Box of Mineral Specimens, collected in 1969
1800s

These specimens were selected and arranged by James R. Gregory of the Mineralogists and Geologist's Repository, London.  The box was meant to accompany J.D. Dana's book A System of Mineralogy and contains over 200 minerals from around the world.  It was a portable accessory for geologists and gem collectors. They could consult it during their hunt for precious minerals to mine and collect.