
I have been playing and teaching about quartz crystal singing bowls for over a decade. I was taught that you should only buy bowls made in the USA and by no means made in China. I was also told that one of the unique things about crystal singing bowls was that they had both the healing power of sound and the power of quartz. I have learned in the past year that this is false. Below is the truth about quartz crystal singing bowls.
History:
Crystal Singing Bowls were developed in the 1980s by the solar industries and are actually “Quartz Crucibles”. They were made for silicon crystal production. Some musicians discovered them and the beautiful sounds they made. The bowls the musicians used were rejected by the solar industry because they weren’t pure enough for their purposes. The solar industry crucibles had to be 99.997% pure or above. The rejected bowls and the ones we use today are 99.992%. Some also say they were discovered in Silicon Valley where they used them to grow silicon crystals for computer chips. I was always told the latter version in which they used to discard the containers and someone discovered if you played them like a wine glass they made beautiful tones. No matter which is true 95% of all crystal singing bowls used for musical purposes today are now made in China and a few in Korea.
How and what are they made of:
All crystal singing bowls are made of silica sand, also called HPQ sand which is 99.992% quartz. The sand is heated to 4000 degrees and molded into a bowl. When heated, the crystalline structure of the quartz is broken and becomes amorphous. This means it no longer has the properties of raw quartz and is a glass bowl. I was taught that they had both the power of sound and the piezoelectric properties of the raw quartz crystal to store, focus, magnify, and transfer energy. Because of these electrical properties, quartz is used in computers, TVs, microphones, watches, clocks, and more. I realize now since the silica sand is heated to 4000 degrees to make the bowls none of what I was told is true. That all being said, I still love my crystal singing bowls. They sound beautiful and mimic binaural beats (actually they produce a monaural beat) from the sound going around and around, in one ear and then the other, entraining the brain into the Alpha brainwave state, as you continue to relax and listen, your brainwave state continues to lower into the Theta and sometimes Delta brainwave states.
Where they are made:
All crystal singing bowls are made in China. Some companies claim their bowls are made in the US. Crystal Tones used to claim that but you could never really find where they were made on their website. Recently I found this statement:
“According to available information, Crystal Tones singing bowls are manufactured in China, with the design and quality control overseen by the Crystal Tones company based in Mount Shasta, California.
Key points about Crystal Tones singing bowl production:
Manufacturing location: China
Design and quality control: Crystal Tones company in Mount Shasta, California
Reason for manufacturing in China: Access to the industrial-sized furnaces required to precisely melt and mold the quartz for the bowls”
In reality, the silica sand they are made from may be from the US but the actual bowls are made in China. Another thing some sellers sometimes say is that the bowls are finished in the US allowing them to say they are made in the US. Finishing bowls usually refers to either grinding them to make them a specific note or perfect pitch or if alchemy bowls, fusing the colors and designs with high heat and vacuum.
Alchemy Bowls (added Gem/Mineral/Metals)
Alchemy bowls are crystal singing bowls that are fused with mineral powder. They are beautiful and come in different patterns and colors. They all start as frosted or clear crystal bowls made in China. Then a mineral/gem/ precious metal coating is fused to the outside of the bowl in the US. They are not painted but fused to the outside of the bowl. Companies often mislead buyers about the bowls leading them to believe they are made of gems, minerals, or precious metals. The bowl must still be made of silica sand, otherwise, it would not have the same clear resonant sound. Alchemy bowls, like the frosted and clear bowls, are also glass but have very small amounts of added minerals, gems, or precious metals such as amethyst, platinum, rose quartz, etc. Too much of the minerals/gem/precious metals powder, would not allow the bowl to have a clear beautiful resonance.
Summary:
In summary, crystal singing bowls are glass bowls that have a clear resonant sound. Some are clear, some are frosted, and some have colors and gem/mineral/metal powders fused to the outside. All the bowls have the same core glass structure regardless of whether they are coated in minerals, gems, or precious metals. Although they are all made in China there can be a difference in sound quality depending on which factory or brand is commissioning them. Make sure when buying there is a good return policy in case you are not happy with the sound quality.
If you want to learn more about becoming a Sound Healing Therapy Practioner and creating sound baths, check out our Sound Healing Therapy Practitioner Certification Training. Be sure to watch the video describing the curriculum and what makes it different from other certification trainings.
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