The majority of green aventurine comes out of India. It ends up being cut into beads or small figurines for both the export and the tourist market. The majority of aventurine is mediocre material. Aventurine seems to be the first stone to display the shimmer, so it received the name. This sparkle has been aptly named… aventurescence. Instead of simply being green quartz, aventurine has depth and a sparkling effect across the surface of the stone from the inclusions. AventurineĪventurine is a green variety of quartz, separate from prasiolite. It’s also important to understand its nature to avoid buying counterfeit “jade” for a new collector. It’s a close mimic of jade and was an important mineral for the production of asbestos. Overall, serpentine is an interesting specimen for both industrial and artistic reasons. The stone itself varies widely in grade, from crumbly green pebbles to solid, semi-translucent masses that closely mimic good jade. A particle mask is a requirement when cutting serpentine, but you should be wearing one anyways when cutting any stone. Specifically, it contains a variety of asbestos known as chrysotile. The reason is that serpentine contains asbestos. Serpentine is actually a fibrous mineral and one that some are nervous to cut. Some people still confuse the two, but they’re quite different in chemical composition and crystal structure. The lower grades are of little interest, but the higher grades of serpentine have been used as a lapidary substitute for nephrite jade in the past. Serpentine is another common green stone. That’s a victory for a stone that was mainly destroyed for its copper content in the past. It’s even made its way into some of the world’s most famous museums, such as the Malachite Room at the Hermitage in Russia. Malachite has long been a favorite for stone collectors, and that isn’t likely to change. When cut, they reveal the interior’s bands of color and brilliant patterns. These spheres of malachite gather together to form a mass of stone “bubbles” conglomerated together. Malachite occurs in many forms, but the one most of us are familiar with is the botryoidal formations. Still, the fakes are readily discernable to the practiced eye. Malachite can be an expensive stone, enough that there’s a counterfeit market for it. It’s actually an important copper ore as well, but the beauty of the stone has made it a timeless classic for decorative and jewelry use. Malachite is one of the iconic green stones. Chances are that people will continue to love and work with jade for a long time to come. Jade is one of the oldest stones to still be with humanity and countless beautiful artifacts made of it are spread across the globe. At their best, they can rival emeralds in their color and clarity. Nephrite jade is more common by far, but often lacks the clarity and high color of the best samples of jadeite.īoth forms of jade are beautiful. This structure lends itself well to carving and it’s the classic jade of China and the Maori people. Nephrite, on the other hand, is a calcium magnesium iron silicate that forms tough, fiber-like crystals. It’s harder and denser than nephrite jade, but not quite as tough due to the crystal structure. It forms in masses, but the pure mineral is sometimes found crystallized in interior vugs. Jadeite is a fine-grained sodium aluminum silicate. The difference is in the crystal and chemical formations. The two can be hard to tell apart for a beginner, but they’re both referred to as jade. Nephrite jade is the classic green that’s closely associated with Chinese artifacts, while jadeite is newer to the scene. Whether it’s a high-grade emerald ring or just a low-grade crystal, however, it’s easy to see why emerald has become a synonym for the greenest of greens. Hard, resilient, and filled with a natural beauty they’re most often found in high-end jewelry. Samples of low-grade emeralds are plentiful and relatively cheap.Įmeralds are the archetypical green precious gem. Emeralds themselves actually aren’t that rare, but finding them with enough clarity to be cut into faceted gemstones is rare. The beryl family is home to many people’s favorite gemstones, featuring things like morganite and aquamarine. There’s even a name for these complex inclusions: Jardin.Įmeralds are colored by chrome. Among their various quirks is the fact that virtually all emeralds are heavily included, creating an internal wonderland that many enjoy. Vibrant and once described by the ancients as “more green than green”, emeralds are a strange gemstone. Emerald is the most famous of the green gemstones.
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