You have entered the website of artificially grown crystals, an initiative for the International Year of Crystallography 2014 of the IUCr Commission on Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials in collaboration with the International Organization for Crystal Growth (IOCG).

Nature, of course, provides us with beautiful and sometimes giant crystals. However, people across the whole world put extraordinary effort into growing artificial crystals, driven by a thirst for knowledge and beauty, but also to answer the needs of modern society for novel devices and applications.

This is why each crystal you will see in this gallery is the result of a mixture of science, technology, and inventiveness. For each image, some information is given about the crystal, the method used to grow it, and its main applications. Links are also suggested to improve your knowledge and feed your curiosity.

You may download the images and use them for education or for any other purpose, under the sole condition that you acknowledge the contributor. If you are advertising these on your website or other external publication, we would also appreciate it if you would provide a link to this website whenever possible.

You may also submit images of crystals that you have grown: this invitation is extended not only to scientists working in public institutions or for private companies, but also to non-professional crystal growers.