1.5" Snowflake Obsidian Worry Stones

Worry stones are smooth, polished stones, usually in the shape of an oval, with a thumb-sized indentation. They are often used by people for relaxation or anxiety relief purposes, the same way as some people use a fidget spinner. Typically, worry stones are 1 1/2 to 2 inches across. They may also be referred to as palm stones, thumb stones, fidget stones, etc.

Snowflake obsidian is found near Sevier Lake in Millard County, Utah. It is a natural volcanic "glass" that forms when molten rock cools so quickly that that atoms do not have enough time to arrange themselves into crystals. Instead, the molten material solidifies into an amorphous solid called a glass. The "snowflakes" in the obsidian are small, white, radially clustered crystals of cristobalite, a mineral polymorph of silica.

Obsidian was important material for many ancient people. It was used for making tools, weapons, jewelry, and decorative items, and was a major barter material for Native Americans. When broken, its conchoidal fracturing results in extremely sharp edges, making it ideal for knives, scrapers, arrowheads and spearpoints. It is even occasionally used today to produce surgeons' scalpels, since the edges are several times sharper (only 3 nanometers) than the edges of steel blades.