It’s no wonder that the stuff is a favorite of collectors There’s an endless variety of jasper out there, and each stone produces its own unique pattern. Bumblebee Jasper also falls into this category, it’s actually a calcite mineral colored with pyrite, arsenic, and sulfur. One of the most famous is Dalmation Jasper, which is a microcrystalline silica stone instead of a cryptocrystalline stone. There are also quite a few stones called jasper in their common name that consist of different minerals than true jasper. Many jasper patterns have distinct names, and other jaspers are called for their place of origin. That’s just a small sample of the offerings out there. It’s not named for its colors(which vary across the spectrum from blue to green to red) but instead for the fact that the deposits are often marine and only accessible at low tide. Ocean Jasper is an orbicular jasper that occurs in Madagascar. The most common forms are cemented with grey chalcedony between red and yellow jasper but there is a multitude of different colors available. In the modern market there are a lot of composites under the same name, be sure of what you’re buying! Brecciated Jasperīrecciated jasper nodules are broken up internally and cemented with chalcedony. Imperial Jasper is a green form of jasper that is considered one of the rarest. Some of the commonly used names for jasper varieties are: Imperial Jasper Some varieties also have their own names and specific colors. Jaspers, like agates, have a loose classification system based on how their surface patterns emerge. They’re surprisingly common in many parts of the United States. Jasper nodules can often be found in riverbeds anywhere near ancient volcanic activity.

Jasper is an igneous rock but it often occurs in larger formations than agate. Jasper’s deep colors and opacity stem from impurities in the silica. The crystals in a cryptocrystalline stone are hard to find even with a microscope. While they’re made of the same stuff as regular quartz crystals, the crystal structure is entirely different. Jaspers exist on a continuum of cryptocrystalline quartz.

Generally, the stone will have some kind of pattern as well, even if it’s within a single hue. A true jasper blocks all light, although some brecciated jaspers will have pockets of chalcedony in them. Jasper is distinct from agate due to its opacity. Jasper is usually characterized by bright colors, including green, red, blue, and many others. There is also some fossilized material.Ĭolour: All colours, valuable jaspers have complex combinations strips and spots.Jasper is a form of cryptocrystalline silicon dioxide(SiO₂ or silica) that’s opaque.

Sometimes jasper can be grown together with agate or opal. Uniformly coloured jasper is rare, usually it is multicolored, striped, or flamed. The finely grained, dense jasper contains up to 20 percent foreign materials, which determine its colour, streak, and appearance. The name jasper is derived from the Greek and means 'spotted stone'.

Jasper is usually considered as Chalcedony sometimes, however, scientists put it in a group by itself within the quartz group because of its grainy structure. A variety of Chalcedony, which is a variety of Quartz.

Different types of jasper crystal