Gemstone Kits: The Four Kinds Shops Sell and How to Build One

A gemstone kit is a small, finished product built from a few stones. It might be a pouch of four crystals with a card, a set of labelled classroom specimens, or a block of stone with the tools to carve it. This guide covers the four kinds of gemstone kit that shops sell and what goes in each one. It also shows how to make a dig kit yourself, and answers the question every buyer asks first: can a kit line pay its way on your shelf?

The four kinds of gemstone kit

Most kits sold in gift shops, studios, museums and classrooms fall into one of four groups. Each one sells to a different shopper, so it helps to know which one you are buying for before you order.

• Gift kits. A few tumbled stones in a pouch with a printed card that names them. They are themed by zodiac sign, by intention or by birthstone, and they sell as a quick, personal present.
• Learning kits. Labelled minerals chosen to teach something: the rock cycle, mineral identification or hardness. Teachers, tutors, museums and homeschool families buy them.
• Craft kits. Raw material plus tools: soapstone with a rasp and sandpaper, or bead strands with cord. The buyer makes something, so these sell to camps, art rooms and families looking for an activity.
• Dig kits. Stones hidden in sand, gravel or a plaster block for kids to dig out. Many shops build these themselves from loose stock.

The kind you choose decides where the kit sits in your shop. Gift kits belong at the till, learning kits on a shelf near books and specimens, craft kits with the activity and toy lines, and dig kits wherever families stop.

What goes in a gemstone kit

Good kits are simple. Look at what is inside the two gift kits on our shelf, the Zodiac Crystal Collection and the Intention Crystal Collection:

• Four crystals, each about 1/2" to 1".
• A printed card that names every stone and what it is traditionally linked with.
• A 3" x 4" organza drawstring pouch, ready to give.

That is the whole formula. The theme does the selling. A zodiac kit needs nothing from the shopper but a birthday: the Leo kit, for example, holds black onyx, tiger's eye, carnelian and sunstone. An intention kit picks four stones around a theme such as Gratitude (tiger's eye, green aventurine, amethyst and rose quartz) or Full Moon (clear quartz, amethyst, selenite and moonstone).

Learning kits follow a different rule: every piece must be correctly named, because the kit is used to teach. Our Mohs Hardness Classroom Kit holds eight natural specimens from hardness 2 to 9. They are selenite (gypsum), honey calcite, lapis lazuli, labradorite (feldspar), clear quartz, spinel crystals in marble, alexandrite (chrysoberyl) and a sapphire (corundum) crystal. Many school rock kits stop at quartz, which sits at 7, so the top three pieces let a class test the hard end of the scale too. Teachers will find more on our rocks and minerals for schools page.

Craft kits need material soft enough for a beginner. Soapstone (steatite) sits at about 1 to 3 on the Mohs scale, so it shapes with a rasp and sandpaper, no chisel or hammer. The Soapstone Starter Carving Kit holds two blocks, a steel rasp and four grades of sandpaper, with printed steps on the pack. The full range is in soapstone carving kits and tools.

How to make your own gemstone dig kit

A dig kit is the easiest kit to build from loose wholesale stock. It is also a good use for small tumbled stones and chips. Here is a simple version for a party, a classroom or a market table:

1. Pick five to eight stones that look different from each other. Think purple amethyst, pink rose quartz, striped tiger's eye, black obsidian and green aventurine. Contrast makes each find exciting. Tumbled stones by the pound work well because they are smooth and safe for small hands.
2. Bury them in play sand in a tub or bag. For a "real dig" feel, set them in a small block of plaster of Paris mixed with sand, to be chipped away with a wooden stick.
3. Add an identification card with a photo and the name of each stone, so the digger can match what they find. The card is what turns a bag of sand into a learning kit.
4. Add a brush and a magnifier if you want it to feel like a field kit.

One safety rule: tumbled stones and chips are a choking hazard for very young children. Label any dig kit for the age it suits.

Can I make money reselling gemstone kits?

Yes, and kits are often easier to price than loose stones, because the customer is buying a finished gift, not four pebbles. Three things make a kit line work:

1. Know your cost per kit. If you buy kits ready-made, signed-in wholesale accounts see their wholesale price on each product page. The full-set bundle pages for our zodiac and intention kits also list a suggested retail price per kit, so the margin is one subtraction. If you build your own, add up the stones, the pouch, the card and your time. Our guide to markup vs margin shows how to turn that cost into a shelf price.
2. Put them where people wait. A small kit is an add-on purchase. A basket by the register is where impulse add-ons happen, so give kits a spot there rather than a shelf at the back.
3. Stock the whole set. A shopper looking for a Scorpio kit who finds only Leo walks away. The Complete Zodiac Crystal Collection puts all 12 signs in one order. Its product page notes there is no Stonebridge branding on the pouch or the card, so the kits sit on your counter as your own.

Learning and craft kits sell on a different calendar: back to school, holiday gift season and summer camp. Planning your first order across several lines? Our guide to your crystal shop opening order helps you split the budget. Selling crystals at craft fairs covers the table where dig kits do best.

How to test the stones in a kit

Whether you buy kits or build them, check what is inside. The simplest tool is the scratch test. The Mohs scale ranks minerals from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond) by which one scratches which:

• A fingernail scratches minerals up to about 2.5.
• A copper coin scratches up to about 3.
• A steel nail or knife blade scratches up to about 5.5.
• Glass is about 5.5, so a mineral that scratches glass is harder than that. Quartz, at 7, scratches glass easily.

A 10x jeweller's loupe is the other tool worth owning. It shows bubbles in glass, dye collected in cracks and the layered look of some coated stones. Kits sold in shops should use the same labels as the supplier, so if a stone is dyed, coated or heat-treated, say so on the card. The supplier's label is your starting point, and our authenticity page explains how we label stones on our shelf.

Hardness also matters for packing. Harder stones can scratch softer ones when they rub together in a pouch. If a kit mixes quartz with selenite or calcite, wrap the soft pieces or keep them apart.

Frequently asked questions

What is in a gemstone kit?

It depends on the kind. A gift kit usually holds a few small tumbled crystals, a card that names them and a pouch. A learning kit holds labelled mineral specimens. A craft kit holds raw stone such as soapstone plus the tools to shape it, and a dig kit hides stones in sand or plaster to be dug out.

How can I make my own gemstone dig?

Pick five to eight tumbled stones that look different from each other, bury them in play sand or set them in a block of plaster of Paris mixed with sand, and add an identification card with the name of each stone. A brush and a magnifier make it feel like a field kit. Label it for the right age, because small stones are a choking hazard for young children.

What is the best tool to test gemstones?

For a shop or classroom, start with the Mohs scratch test: a fingernail, a copper coin, a steel nail and a piece of glass tell you roughly how hard a mineral is. Add a 10x jeweller's loupe to spot bubbles in glass, dye in cracks and coatings.

Which gemstones should not be stored together?

Keep hard stones away from soft ones. Quartz, at 7 on the Mohs scale, can scratch selenite at 2 or calcite at 3 when they rub together in a pouch, so wrap the soft pieces or keep them apart.

Can I buy gemstone kits wholesale in Canada?

Yes. Stonebridge Imports ships from Kitchener, Ontario, with no minimum order. Our shelf includes zodiac and intention crystal kits, a classroom hardness kit and soapstone carving kits.

Stock it for your shop

Stonebridge has no minimum order and ships from Kitchener, Ontario. Open a wholesale account or plan your opening order.