Carved stone is durable but not indestructible, and almost all avoidable damage comes from cleaning it the way you would clean glass or ceramic.
The single fact that governs everything below is hardness.
Hardness decides what you can safely do
Minerals are ranked on the Mohs scale, and the practical consequence is simple: anything harder than the stone will scratch it.
| Material | Approx. hardness | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
| Calcite (incl. banded blue calcite) | 3 | Very soft — scratches easily, keep away from abrasives |
| Howlite | 3.5 | Soft — treat gently |
| Fluorite | 4 | Soft — no scrubbing, no ultrasonic cleaners |
| Obsidian | 5–5.5 | Glass — scratches relatively easily despite looking hard |
| Apatite | 5 | Moderate |
| Labradorite | 6–6.5 | Reasonably durable |
| Agate, jasper, chalcedony | 6.5–7 | Durable |
| Quartz (clear, rose, amethyst, tiger eye) | 7 | The most forgiving of the common materials |
> Quartz is harder than window glass. Calcite and fluorite are softer than glass. Two carvings sitting on the same shelf need completely different handling.
Routine cleaning
For dust — which is 90% of what you actually need:
Use a soft, dry, lint-free cloth. That is it. Most carved stone never needs anything more.
For a deeper clean:
- Use lukewarm water and a drop of mild dish soap.
- Use your hands or a very soft cloth. No scrubbers, no abrasive pads, no toothpaste.
- Rinse with clean water.
- Dry immediately with a soft cloth — do not leave it wet.
Do not use on any carved stone:
- Abrasive cleaners or powders
- Acidic cleaners (including vinegar and lemon)
- Household glass or bathroom cleaner
- An ultrasonic cleaner — the vibration can open existing fractures
- A dishwasher, ever
Materials that should not be soaked at all: calcite and howlite are porous and soft; wipe them with a barely damp cloth and dry straight away. If a piece has a repair or a filled fracture, keep water away from it entirely.
Light and fading
Some coloured quartz — amethyst and rose quartz in particular — can fade with prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. This happens over months and years, not days, and it is not reversible.
If a piece is valuable to you or is a retail display piece, keep it out of continuous direct sun. Diffused daylight and interior lighting are fine.
Display
- Use a stable, level surface. A heavy carving on an uneven shelf is a carving waiting to fall.
- Felt pads or a mat underneath protect both the shelf and the base of the carving.
- Keep it back from shelf edges — the vulnerable points on a skull are the teeth, jaw line and any thin carved detail.
- Light it from the side. Raking light pulls detail and colour out of polished stone far better than light from directly above; it is also how you should photograph it.
- Think about what it sits next to. Hard objects knocked against it will mark it; a soft or recessed spot is safer.
Moving, storing and shipping
For anything more than a short move:
- Wrap the piece in soft material — foam wrap or bubble column. Never let it touch rigid packaging directly.
- Put it in its own box, so it cannot contact anything else.
- Fill voids so it cannot shift. If you shake the box and hear movement, it is not packed.
- Label the box fragile, and keep large pieces upright.
This is the same logic we apply when exporting, and it is the reason our pieces arrive intact — see how we pack and ship.
What to tell your customers
If you are a retailer, the care information is worth passing on. A short printed card in the box reduces returns and reads as competence. The essentials:
> Caring for your stone carving: Dust with a soft, dry cloth. For a deeper clean, use lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, then dry immediately. Do not use abrasive or acidic cleaners, and never an ultrasonic cleaner. Keep out of prolonged direct sunlight.
If you sell a range across several materials, add the material name to the card and note whether it is a soft one (calcite, howlite, fluorite) — those need the gentler handling.
One last thing
If a piece has been damaged, stop cleaning it. Water and cleaning products can drive into an open chip or crack and make a repair harder. Keep it dry and get advice.
Material-specific information for our own range — including hardness and treatment status — is on the material disclosure page. If you are unsure how to handle a specific piece, ask us and we will tell you.