On the 24th of October in Newham-Manor Park, a crystal healing shop had been established called, “Gemstones.” The shop consists of unique stones which are said to treasure distinctive powers. Some of the gem names may sound familiar such as a: ruby, sapphire and rose quartz and some are unfamiliar stones for example: adventurine, amazonite and opal. These jewels are said to embody powers like: calming the mind and heart, gaining wisdom and manifesting prosperity and wealth.
Many local residents from little children to grown adults are intrigued by this shop. I had questioned an 8-year-old girl named Ayesha what she thought of the shop and she said, “It looks very nice and colourful because there are so many pretty rocks.” However different people had their own views and so I asked a grown woman called Yasmin whether she believed in these crystals and she replied, “No such things are only heard of in stories, but they look very pretty as jewellery so it’s a win-win haha.”
“The atmosphere of this shop is quite airy and mystical,” according to Mr Daniel. He thought it was very, “relaxing and appealing,” but he was not so keen on the prices just like a few other people. This led to only a few purchases being made. Due to this condition the shop is finding it difficult to survive in the market and from the past two days had been trying reduce its prices to increase sales.
This scheme had been attracting more customers but the owner did not seem to ecstatic he stated that, “The cost of obtaining the crystals, carving them and converting them into quality jewellery, chimes and statues had cost him more than the profit he is now making.”
By, Preet Shirgill (Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College)
