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Palm Stones: How They Are Cut, Which Stones Suit Them and How to Judge the Finish

By Digital Towns Crystals ยท Last reviewed October 8, 2026

Short answer: a palm stone is a hand-sized cabochon domed on both faces, usually 1.5 to 3 inches long, cut from a slab and ground through a sequence of finer abrasives to a polish. The best ones are oriented so the stone's color or flash faces up, have an even curve with no flat spot on top, and carry a true polish rather than wax. Labradorite, carnelian, lapis, sardonyx and sheen obsidian suit the shape because their beauty shows best across a broad smooth face.

What makes a palm stone different from a tumble or a cabochon?

Think of a palm stone as a jewelry cabochon scaled up to fill a hand and domed on the back as well as the front. A tumbled stone is shaped by chance in a barrel: the stones grind against each other until edges round off, and nobody decides which way the pattern faces. A palm stone is shaped deliberately, one piece at a time or in small batches, so the cutter chooses where the color sits and how flat the profile is. That control is the whole point of the form, and it is why two palm stones of the same material can differ so much in price.

The flattened oval profile also matters physically. A sphere or egg shows only a small patch of its surface at once; a palm stone presents one broad face to the eye, which is exactly what a directional stone like labradorite needs.

How is a palm stone cut?

The process follows standard cabochon practice, enlarged. The International Gem Society's cabochon guide describes the steps, and each one leaves a mark you can check on the finished piece.

Reading the rough

Before any sawing, the cutter studies the rough to decide which direction the finished face will point. For labradorite this decision is everything: Geology.com notes that labradorescence is best exhibited when the base of the cabochon is parallel to the layers that produce the flash, and that careful study of the material is required to get a full face-up color. A labradorite palm stone cut at an angle to those layers shows its color only when tilted, or only near one end.

Slabbing

Most cabochon work starts with a slab; the IGS guide gives typical slices of 1/4 to 3/8 inch for jewelry cabs. A palm stone needs a much thicker slice, because both faces will be domed away. Thick slabs cost more rough per piece, which is one reason a thin, flat palm stone is cheaper to produce than a full, plump one.

Doming both faces

The outline is ground first, then the dome is built by "peeling the apple": bevels at roughly 45 degrees, then 60 degrees, then steeper, until they meet in the center. The IGS warns that even a tiny flat area left on top will not take a proper polish, and it sits right where it shows most. On a palm stone you check for this by tilting it under a single light and watching the reflection of the bulb slide across the surface. A smooth slide means an even dome; a jump or a dull spot means a flat.

Pre-polish and polish

The IGS calls the pre-polish, the final fine sanding, the single most important element in getting a high polish. Scratches left from coarser grits show as fine lines in the finished luster. The polishing compound depends on the stone: according to the same guide, quartz responds best to cerium oxide, while jade needs a lot of heat and friction and is polished with chromium oxide on leather or felt. Soft materials such as lapis scratch readily with diamond and may need finer pre-polish stages than agate.

Which stones suit a palm stone, and why?

The shape rewards stones whose appeal is a broad color field, a band pattern or an optical effect, and it penalizes stones that chip easily at a thin edge.

Stone Mohs hardness Specific gravity What the shape shows What to check
Labradorite 6 to 6.5 2.68 to 2.72 Flash across the face Flash faces up, not off one end
Carnelian 7 2.63 to 2.65 Translucent orange to red Even color, no dye concentrated in cracks
Sardonyx 7 2.63 to 2.65 Red and white bands Bands run cleanly across the dome
Lapis lazuli 3 to 5.5 2.7 to 2.9 Deep blue with pyrite Calcite patches, softer spots
Sheen obsidian about 5.5 glass Silver or gold sheen Sheen centered, edges unchipped

Hardness and gravity for the feldspar come from Geology.com; for carnelian and onyx from Minerals.net.

Labradorite

Labradorite is the classic palm stone material because its flash is directional. Geology.com lists two directions of perfect cleavage meeting at about 86 degrees, so a hard knock on tile can split a thin edge. A full-flash face with a clean rim is the quality marker; "sunset" material, with orange, yellow or pink flash, is a color variant of the same stone (see labradorite).

Carnelian and sardonyx

Both are chalcedony, microcrystalline quartz, at hardness 7 with no cleavage, so they are the most durable picks here. Minerals.net lists India, Brazil, Uruguay and the United States as sources, notes that some lighter stones are heat treated, and warns that some carnelian on the market is dyed white chalcedony or pale agate. The same page treats carnelian onyx, red and white banded material, as a synonym of sardonyx; on Minerals.net's onyx page, onyx is defined by banding in roughly parallel lines. In a sardonyx palm stone, look for bands that cross the dome rather than wrapping around the rim.

Lapis lazuli

Lapis is a rock, not a single mineral: GIA describes it as an aggregate mainly of lazurite, calcite and pyrite. That mix is why its hardness varies between the 3 of calcite and the 5 to 5.5 of lazurite, according to Geology.com, and why a polished lapis face can show slightly dished white patches where the softer calcite wore faster. Geology.com names Afghanistan as the world's leading source. Listings labeled "UV reactive" refer to fluorescence: the International Gem Society records orange spots or streaks under longwave UV in material from Afghanistan and Chile. More on the stone itself is in the lapis lazuli guide.

Sheen obsidian

The International Gem Society attributes the sheen in sheen obsidian to inclusions of gas bubbles, and the cutter has to orient the piece so the sheen faces the top of the dome. At a hardness of about 5.5, obsidian scratches easily and, as Geology.com puts it, lacks toughness and is easily broken or chipped on impact, so inspect the rim for small conchoidal chips.

What should a palm stone weigh, and what drives the price?

Weight follows volume and specific gravity. Treating a palm stone as a flattened ellipsoid, a piece 60 by 45 by 20 mm holds about 28 cubic centimeters; at a specific gravity near 2.7, that is roughly 76 grams. A 75 to 99 gram labradorite palm is therefore a full-size piece of about that footprint, while a 10 to 24 gram one is a pocket-size stone. If a listing gives both dimensions and weight, they should agree within that range for quartz and feldspar materials.

Price follows a few drivers, in rough order:

  1. Effect quality. Full-face flash in labradorite, crisp bands in sardonyx, solid blue lapis with little calcite.
  2. Size. Thicker rough and more grinding time per piece.
  3. Finish. A bright, scratch-free polish takes more pre-polish time.
  4. Rarity of the material. Lapis costs more per gram than carnelian at the same size.

Watch for a coating standing in for a polish. Geology.com notes that oil and wax can conceal fractures, hide a bad polishing job, or make a smoothed rough stone look polished, and that these coatings wear off with handling. A waxed palm stone feels faintly tacky and turns dull in patches after a few weeks in the hand.

How should you keep a palm stone?

Store them so they cannot rub against harder pieces: a quartz point dropped against a lapis or obsidian palm will scratch it. Wipe off skin oil with a damp cloth and dry it. Keep dyed or waxed pieces out of hot sun, where coatings soften and dyes fade.

Choosing a palm stone from what we stock

Start with what the stone should do: flash, color or pattern. Then check the listing photos for the cues above: where the effect sits, whether the rim is clean, and whether the weight fits the size.

For the smaller, grooved cousin of this form, see worry stones; for barrel-polished stones, see tumbled stones.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a palm stone used for?

Most buyers hold, carry or display them. In crystal traditions a palm stone is a handheld focus object for meditation, with the meaning tied to the stone chosen. Collectors also use the form because one broad polished face shows a stone's color or flash better than a tumble does.

Are palm stones natural?

The stone is natural; the shape is cut. Palm stones are slabbed, ground and polished from natural rough. Glass and resin imitations exist, especially of obsidian and opal-like material, so a very uniform color with tiny round bubbles is worth a closer look with a loupe.

Why does my labradorite palm stone look gray?

Its flash only appears when light reflects off the internal layers toward your eye. If the stone was cut with the layers parallel to the base, turning it flat under one light shows the color. If it was cut at an angle, the flash appears only when you tilt it.

What is the difference between a palm stone and a worry stone?

A palm stone fills the hand and is domed on both faces. A worry stone is smaller, flatter and usually has a shallow thumb-sized hollow ground into one side. The groove changes how it is cut and which stones last.

Which palm stone is most durable?

Carnelian, sardonyx and other chalcedony at hardness 7 with no cleavage. Labradorite is a step down because of its cleavage. Lapis and obsidian scratch most easily of the common choices.

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