Shungite

Real shungite from the Zazhoginsky deposit in Karelia, the only place on earth where it is mined in commercial quantity. Everything on this page is cut, tumbled or broken from that one stone, from a €1,70 pebble to a 2,4 kg slab.

What is shungite?

A black, carbon-rich rock roughly two billion years old, found in usable amounts only around Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia. Almost everything sold as shungite is Type III: 30–60% carbon, the rest silicate, which is why raw pieces carry pale quartz veins and glints of pyrite. It is the grade that can be carved, tumbled and sold by weight, and it is the only grade we sell. Every listing says what it weighs.

How to tell real shungite from fake

Fakes are common: black resin, painted basalt, or shungite dust pressed into a binder. Four checks you can run at home, and the first needs nothing but your phone. The touchscreen test: unlock your phone and tap the screen with the stone. Real shungite conducts electricity, so the screen reads it as a fingertip — you can dial a number or type a PIN with it. Resin, painted stone and pressed dust do nothing. Then: real shungite is light for its size, at roughly half the density of quartz; it leaves a dark streak on unglazed porcelain; and unpolished pieces are matte, never uniformly glossy. Our guide walks through each test with photos.

Raw shungite, polished shungite, or carved?

Three forms, one stone. Raw shungite is broken rock, sold by weight from 300 g to 2,1 kg, and is the form used for water. Tumbled and polished stones are the same rock with the edges rounded off, cleaner to handle and sold by the piece or the bag. Carved shapes — pyramids, merkabas, spheres — are cut from larger blocks and polished, from €8,90.

Shungite jewellery and stickers

Shungite pendants and bracelets start at €12,50 for a small torus pendant; the bead bracelet is €17,00. Shungite phone stickers are the cheapest way to own a piece, from €2,60 for one to €29,60 for twenty.

One-of-a-kind pieces

Large raw specimens, each photographed individually and sold once, are in the specimens collection. They range from 243 g to 2,45 kg and are priced purely by weight, so a heavier stone always costs more and a prettier one never does.

Kits and bundles

The four shungite kits combine several categories at a lower price than the pieces bought separately, from the €21,50 Twin Pyramids to the €80 PRO kit.

Where our shungite comes from

All of it is Karelian shungite from the Zazhoginsky deposit near Lake Onega, bought direct and weighed here. Nothing from other regions and nothing resin-bound.