Name: Robert Anthony Art
Price range: $

Dalmatian jasper is the stone everyone recognizes and almost nobody describes correctly. The cream body with black spots is unmistakable. The name is wrong on both counts.

It is not jasper, and the spots are not tourmaline

Mineralogically it is an igneous rock — a fine-grained feldspar and quartz matrix, not the chalcedony that defines true jasper. The dark inclusions are usually arfvedsonite, a sodium amphibole, though many listings claim black tourmaline because it sells better. Mindat lists it under "dalmatian stone" for exactly this reason.

Close-up of a speckled dalmatian jasper point pendant showing cream matrix and scattered black arfvedsonite inclusions — Dalmatian stone — cream matrix, dark amphibole inclusions

How it wears

It sits around 6 to 7 on the Mohs scale, which puts it in the same practical bracket as amethyst: fine for daily wear, but it will pick up micro-scratches if it shares a drawer with harder stones.

Not porous — safe with brief water contact, unlike turquoise or howlite.
Opaque — no internal fractures to worry about under a knock.
Takes a high polish — and loses it slowly against grit, so store it separately.

Care in three lines

Warm water, mild soap, soft cloth. No ultrasonic cleaners.
Remove before swimming — the chlorine is a chain problem, not a stone problem.
Store in a pouch, away from quartz points and metal.

Styling it

The high-contrast speckle is loud, so it does best as the only patterned piece. Pair it with plain chain and a single smooth stone if you layer. Against black or navy it reads graphic; against cream it disappears.