Crystals were popularized in the West in the 1970s. Today, crystals are at the forefront of beauty, health and wellness trends. But what is so special about these rocks?
Marissa Quintana, the store manager at Aquamarine Daydream on Fourth Avenue, said that self-care is inspiring the crystal wave.
“People are starting to focus in a little bit more and crystals are a really great way to do that,” Quintana said. “They’re a good way to either meditate or help with your manifesting or intentions.”
Aquamarine Daydream is home to a plethora of crystals, along with minerals, jewelry, incense and more. Despite how new the storefront is, Quintana said the business is rapidly growing in popularity.
“We’ve been open since October,” Quintana said. “We’re newer on Fourth, but we get a lot of traffic.”
Crystals are not new to the world, but their popularity has risen like no other. The hashtag, #crystals, now has over 9 billion views on TikTok.
These trends are what has inspired crystal connoisseurs and small business owners alike, but what force allows a business to go from pipedream to storefront?
“I think it’s influencers’ growth and interest in them,” Quintana said. “The popularization of social media, with TikTok specifically.”
Quintana explained that different crystals come with different properties. They each bring something different to the table.
“Green Aventurine is good for luck and connection to nature whereas Tiger’s Eye is good for confidence and courage,” Quintana said. “Each stone has properties it’s thought to help with.”
While Green Aventurine and Tiger’s Eye are popular, crystals work in different ways for everyone. University of Arizona sophomore, Paige Suthard, explained that she chooses what crystals to use based on what is ahead of her.
“Every Sunday I write down my goals for the week and my manifestations for the week,” Suthard said. “I’ll pick out specific crystals that could help me reach those goals.”
For Suthard, she said that she finds herself most frequently reaching for Blue Calcite.
“It’s a huge stress reliever for me,” Suthard said. “If I have trouble sleeping or if I’m really stressed about an essay, I’ll bring it out. It’s definitely one of my favorite ones.”
Suthard also attributes the rise of crystals to social media.
“It has become such a trend,” Suthard said. “Now, so much information about [crystals] is going around on social media, so there is a lot of knowledge out there.”
And with social media comes community.
“It really is a community of people,” Suthard said. “You can really connect with people through this interest.”
Both Quintana and Suthard spoke to the benefits of crystals, but the question lingers: do they actually work?
“I think it’s a big debate,” Suthard said. “Some people might think it’s BS, but it’s something that I hold on to and I think it helps me. It gives me that little something to hold on to.”
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