Let's Learn about Jasper

I have realized that the bead and stone lingo that I understand and use on a daily basis may not be common knowledge to my friends and customers.  With that in mind, I have added a new category called "Learning the Lingo".  Once a week I will define a stone, a type of bead, a cut of a gem or some other jewelry term that may not be common knowledge.

Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of quartz that is usually red, yellow or brown in color. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is often used for ornamentation or as a gemstone.

There are many varieties of jasper as you can see above. It seems that so many "new" jaspers have popped up in the last few years that I never know if I am being told the correct name of the jasper. For example, Paintbrush jasper is also called Artistic Jasper or Coffee Bean Jasper. I tend to just call them all plain old Jasper in my descriptions.

I love the variety of Jasper.  My favorite jasper is probably Ocean Jasper.  You can buy a strand of ocean japer and each bead will be so completely different!  The colors will vary from pinks to greens to browns.  The red, cream and grey diamond shaped pendant above is ocean jasper.

Here are a few necklaces I have made with Jasper Pendants: