crystal materials, types and sources

I have poured through the threads here and have not found one the addresses crystal chamber crystals themselves. I am curious to know which materials work best (acrylic, quartz, silicon and etc...)? Next question concerns the shape (cut look, rough cut or rounded)? I found one website [http://www.paperlanternstore.com/dia...confetti.html] that sells acrylic crystals that have a classic diamond cut look to them. Has anyone every used this shape and if so, how was it to mount and how did it look once you got it up and running? Last question is where are you guys/gals getting your crystals from (growing them yourselves, TCSS acrylics {when they are in stock}, on-line store or local craft store?
Any info., pics or a simple URL would be greatly appreciated.

You can go on eBay and buy real quartz crystals for fairly cheap.

Etsy, amazon, eBay, local new age shops. You'll run into a lot of instances where you won't know the exact size of the crystal(s) you're getting so it may be best to get the crystals first then design around that.

Ill leave mounting and such to your search skills. There are plenty of chamber build threads that show and or explain mounting methods.

Oh, and there may be one or two recent posts about making your own ;)

In Wal-Mart, aquarium section. i found bags of acrylic "crystals" in various colors, for about a dollar each. Going to make some "Kyber crystal boxes" and sell them at a con later this year

If you plan to just use an rgb light to determine the color of your crystal then your best off with a clearish crystal. My understanding is that smoky quartz with lots of inclusions works best. If you are looking for your crystal to naturally match the color of your blade then you will be limited to the types of crystal that can produce those colors or use artificial means to dye the crystal. So for instance, calcite can come in pinkish/red colors, flourite can come in blueish-green colors etc. Ebay is a great place to get crystals cheap.

Holders are anything you can come up with. Most people use various pieces of plumbing bits purchased at a hardware store and sandwich the crystal between the two and epoxy it further in place. But the sky is really the limit here.