Angel Chimes – How rare are they? What makes them chime?

A guide with everything you want and need to know about Angel Chimes!

Picture above – Moldavite angel carving – not an angel chime!

What are Angel Chime Moldavites?

Moldavite is a natural impact glass which can vibrate at a pitch called the resonant frequency. When you strike or rub Moldavite, you are giving energy to the molecules in the Moldavite making them vibrate. The vibrations in the Moldavite causes the air molecules around it to vibrate creating a chiming sound. However, not all Moldavite is an Angel Chime and thicker glass will not resonate as easily as thin glass.

An Angel Chime Moldavite has a high internal tension caused by a quicker solidification from its molten form to a hard glass. Imagine this tension to be squeezing inwards on the Moldavite causing the molecules to be tighter together and under constant tension. This high internal tension means the Angel Chime Moldavite vibrate more and produce a chiming or ringing sound when tapped, dropped or rubbed against glass or metal.

Angel Chimes are more frequently found in pieces of Moldavite which are thinner or longer and were able to cool faster. However you can find thicker pieces that chime too.

Are all Angel Chimes created equal?

Angel Chimes have different degrees of their chiming/ringing sound. This is noticeable if the sound it produces is higher pitch and longer ringing sound, which may mean a high internal tension.

If the sound is a lower pitch (e.g. a little more dull) and shorter ringing sound, it may from a high (but not as high) internal tension or only a part of the Moldavite may have a high internal tension (e.g. only part of the Moldavite cooled faster while the other part cooled slower)

Other factors that influence the ringing sound is the thickness and size of the Moldavite. Thinner and/or longer pieces can be more likely to produce a longer ringing sound as it is easier to make it vibrate than a thicker and larger piece of Angel Chime Moldavite.

How rare are Angel Chimes?

It is estimated that in a 1kg bag of Moldavite, there may be 2-3 pieces on average of Angel Chimes. Sometimes there could be zero angel chimes in a 1kg bag or a couple more than average.

Let’s explore how rare they are. The average weight of Moldavite is around 4 grams, so there would be many more pieces between 1-9 grams in size and much fewer pieces of a larger size.

A 1kg bag of Moldavite is equivalent to 1000 grams of Moldavite. With the average weight being 4 grams, we can estimate that there are 250 pieces of Moldavite in a 1kg bag (1000 grams divided by 4 grams).

Let’s say on average there are 2 or 3 Angel Chimes per 1000 grams (or 250 pieces). This means that there Angel Chimes form 0.8% to 1.2% (2 divided by 250, or 3 divided by 250) of all Moldavite found. Let’s average this and say that Angel Chimes are only 1% of all Moldavite found. It could be lower or higher so it depends on your luck.

The rareness of Angel Chime Moldavite means that they are sometimes a little more expensive than regular Moldavite as there is greater demand for them but very limited supply.

How do you make the Angel Chimes ring or chime?

You can create a ringing or chiming sound with Angel Chimes by dropping, tapping or rubbing it against glass or metal.

The safest way would be to lightly tap the Moldavite against another Moldavite to see if you get a high pitch ringing sound.

A few words of caution with your Angel Chime

Angel Chimes have a higher internal tension and often thinner than normal Moldavite. This means that they are more fragile and should be treated gently when chiming it. Try not to drop it or bang it too hard against glass or metal when trying to show off your Angel Chime to friends. Otherwise you might have an Angel Chime for yourself and your friend when it breaks into two!

Myths of Angel Chime

There are claims that Angel Chimes are the most powerful type of Moldavite and attract angels to you. Unfortunately this is not true and there can be powerful and less powerful Angel Chimes, just like how it is with all Moldavite.

It would be more accurate to call an Angel Chime Moldavite, a high internal tension (or HIT) Moldavite so people don’t connect it to the power of angels. But Angel Chimes sounds much nicer and gives the impression it has the power of a singing angel. If you have the chance to find one, contact us with what you think of it.

Can you identify Angel Chimes by sight?

Angel Chimes come in all shapes, sizes and shades of green. Angel Chimes are often longer and/or thinner. However there are many long and/or thin Moldavite which are not Angel Chimes!

Angel Chimes come in all sizes from small 1 gram to over 100 grams in size. They also come in all shapes including fragments, sticks, tear drops, disks, ellipsoids and dumbbells. See guide on shapes

It is impossible to accurately pick which Moldavite will be Angel Chimes until they are tested for the sound they produce.

See six Angel Chimes below which are between 1 and 51 grams in size. Could you have picked that they were Angel Chimes?

Want to see a demonstration?

There are some Youtube examples. Here are two good short ones: – comparing the normal sounding Moldavite to an angel chime Moldavite – playing with Besednice angel chime Moldavite

Gallery of Angel Chime Moldavites

Angel Chimes 1 to 15 grams in size
Angel Chimes 21 to 51 grams in size

Thanks for reading

With Love.

Want more useful information?

See the guides:
Guide to Genuine and Fake Moldavite
The Best Guide on Spotting and Avoiding Fake Moldavite:
Shapes of Moldavite:
Busting myths of Moldavite:
Other useful guides and blog posts:

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