Planning to give your valentine a bouquet of red roses? That’s sweet of you, but may we suggest a more surprising option (particularly if your special someone favors unique home decor)? Gypsum roses.
These delicate crystal clusters — also referred to as desert roses, sand roses or selenite roses — are formed in arid conditions, i.e., when shallow salt basins evaporate. Sand becomes trapped in the residual crystals and, over time, gives them the shape of a single rosette or an array of finely petaled blooms.
Jayson Home, a Chicago store specializing in modern and vintage furniture and home goods, sells gypsum roses on hand-forged iron display stands. Starting at $150, the carefully selected crystals come in small, medium, large and extra large, and would make a statement on a shelf or mantel, alone or with other curios (available at jaysonhome.com). Meanwhile, eBay is a good place to unearth single rosettes and more inexpensive varieties.
Created in tens to hundreds of years, a gypsum rose grows more distinctly beautiful over time — kind of like true love, no? (Feel free to write that in the card.)