Celebrities and Royals Throughout History Who Were Obsessed with Crystals

Humanity's fascination with crystals and gemstones is by no means a modern phenomenon.

From the queens along the Nile to the empresses in the Forbidden City, to today's Hollywood stars — throughout human history, there has always been a group of powerful and wealthy figures willing to devote themselves to a piece of stone, leaving behind legendary stories that people still talk about today. Today, let's take a look at a few true stories of history's "crystal fanatics."

👑 Cleopatra: The Deadly Gaze Painted with Malachite

When it comes to the "originator" of gemstone obsession, many people first think of Cleopatra, the legendary queen of ancient Egypt. It is said that she ground malachite into powder and applied it around her eyes to create that unforgettable green eyeshadow, while her striking eyeliner was often drawn with powdered lapis lazuli.

For the ancient Egyptians, these mineral powders were more than just beauty tools — lapis lazuli was seen as sacred, a symbol of passage to the afterlife, and it appeared throughout the burial treasures of the pharaohs. The world-famous golden mask of Tutankhamun even has lapis lazuli inlaid in its eyebrows and eyeliner.

🀄 Empress Dowager Cixi: Jade Over Diamonds

If there were ever a ranking of "history's most obsessed rulers when it comes to a particular gemstone," Empress Dowager Cixi would surely make the top of the list — though what she loved wasn't diamonds, but jade.

According to historical records, when a foreign envoy once presented her with a top-quality diamond, she barely glanced at it. But when she received jade items, she lit up with delight, repeatedly praising them as "wonderful things." The sheer number of jade items in Cixi's palace was staggering — from jade bowls and jade chopsticks to the jade bracelets she wore at all times. Even her burial treasures included the famous jade carvings of a watermelon and a cabbage — the "Jadeite Cabbage," now one of the National Palace Museum in Taipei's most prized treasures, is believed to be part of the same tradition of court jade craftsmanship from that era. It's fair to say that jade's rise to popularity in modern China owes much to Cixi herself.

💎 The Mughal Emperors: Sitting on a Throne Made of Gemstones

The Mughal Empire of 17th-century India was one of the most extravagant dynasties in history when it came to gemstones. Emperor Shah Jahan — the same ruler who built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife — commissioned the legendary "Peacock Throne," encrusted with rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls. The value of the gemstones alone far exceeded the cost of building the Taj Mahal.

The Mughal royal family viewed gemstones not only as symbols of wealth and power but also believed different stones corresponded to different celestial forces and destinies. Before making major decisions or setting out on journeys, emperors would consult astrologers about the "energy" of the gemstones they wore. This belief that "gemstones determine the fate of the empire" ran throughout the entire Mughal court.

🌈 Queen Victoria: Restoring Opal's Reputation as a Wedding Gift

In 19th-century Europe, opal was once branded an "unlucky stone" — all because of a popular novel in which the protagonist's opal brought about misfortune, causing European opal sales to plummet by nearly half within a year.

But Britain's Queen Victoria refused to buy into the superstition. She adored opals herself, wearing them regularly, and made a point of gifting a set of opal jewelry to each of her daughters as part of their wedding dowry, using her own actions to "clear opal's name." Thanks to the Queen's example, opal's reputation gradually turned around, and it once again became a favorite in the world of jewelry.

💰 The Founder of Morgan Finance: A Gemstone Named After Him

From the late 19th to early 20th century, during America's "Gilded Age," legendary banker J.P. Morgan was also one of the world's most important gemstone and mineral collectors. Working closely with George Kunz, Tiffany & Co.'s chief gemologist, he amassed thousands of precious mineral specimens, many of which he donated to the American Museum of Natural History.

In 1910, a brand-new pink variety of beryl was discovered in Madagascar. To thank Morgan for his generous support of gemology and science over the years, Kunz proposed naming this beautiful pink gemstone "Morganite" — one of the very few gemstones named after a collector himself. It remains a beloved "dream pink" among crystal lovers today.

✨ Hollywood Stars: Turning Crystals into Everyday Fashion

Fast forward to today, and Hollywood has long made crystals a staple both on the red carpet and in daily life. Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand Goop has spent years championing the idea of crystal healing, sparking a trend that ranges from small crystals people carry with them to crystal-shaped home decor. And even back in the Victorian era, the legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt was already an avid opal collector, considering opals her personal "lucky charm" and wearing them both onstage and off.

From the stage to the red carpet, celebrities' love for crystals and gemstones isn't fundamentally so different from that of pharaohs and queens thousands of years ago — both are ways of channeling one's hopes for beauty and strength into a single stone.

💎 The Crystal in Your Hand Is Writing Its Own Story, Too

From the Nile to the Yangtze, from the Mughal Peacock Throne to the Hollywood red carpet, crystals and gemstones have accompanied humanity through thousands of years of history. Behind every crystal lies a shared human emotion — a longing for beauty, a desire for strength, and a hope for good fortune.

At iFamilyBuy.com, we believe that every crystal bracelet is a continuation of this long history. Choose a crystal that's meant for you — and perhaps you, too, are writing your own "legend."✨

What other historical figures do you think were "crystal fanatics"? Share your thoughts in the comments!