Crystal Tree vs Crystal Cluster

Ask what the surface is for.

A coffee table that needs a focal point can take a tree. A nightstand that already holds a lamp and a glass cannot. A cluster sits lower and asks less of the air above it.

Tree

Height and color from five feet away. Citrine and mixed-chip trees work in living rooms and on wide shelves with clearance above the canopy.

Wire trunks collect dust. Hold the base when you brush.

Gifts well: it looks finished in a photo. See the gifts post.

Skip narrow consoles, desks with swinging arms, and any table a cat uses as a path.

Cluster

Low mass. Points catch side light. Amethyst on a nightstand or entry dish is the usual American use.

Needs a dish if the table is good wood. Points scratch.

Less of a gift silhouette unless the cluster is large enough to photograph as a landscape.

Skip the walking edge of a bench and any shelf at sleeve height without a tray.

Same room

Living room: tree on the table or cluster on the shelf—not both competing at the same height.

Bedroom: cluster. Save the tree for the room you walk through.

Entry: cluster or raw stone. Trees get knocked.

Care

Brush both. Do not soak the tree. Full notes in the care post.

If you only buy one

Sofa-first and you like a gift look: tree. Sleep-first or a small table: cluster.