Jasper

Jasper

Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown, green or blue in color. The color stems from the mineral content of the original sediments or ash. Patterns arise during the consolidation process forming flow and depositional patterns. Jasper can be highly polished. The name jasper means "spotted or speckled stone".

Jasper is known to have been a favorite gem in the ancient world; its name can be traced back in Hebrew, Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Latin. The classification and naming of jasper presents an enormous challenge. Terms attributed to various well-defined materials includes the geographic locality where it is found while others are named after the appearance. Then there are inappropriately named materials, for example "Ocean Jasper" from Madagascar is really a chalcedony, as is Bloodstone from India.

Jasper can be modified by the diffusion of minerals along discontinuities providing the appearance of vegetative growth also known as dendritic inclusions. The original materials are often fractured and distorted after deposition, into myriad beautiful patterns which are to be later filled with other colorful minerals. Weathering, with time, will create intensely colored superficial rinds.

Picture jaspers exhibit combinations of patterns such as banding from flow or depositional patterns from water or wind, dendritic or color variations resulting in what appear to be scenes or images, on a cut section. Diffusion from a center produces a distinctive orbicular appearance like with Leopard Skin Jasper, or linear banding from a fracture as seen in Leisegang Jasper. Healed, fragmented rock produces brecciated jasper. When the colors are in stripes or bands, it is called striped or banded jasper.

Below is a list and some pictures of the many jaspers we’ve used in our designs in the past years.

Amazon Rainforest This stone is mined in the West and Central part of Africa.
Brecciated Mookite Mookite is found only in Australia. It is reasonably common to find cavities left by decomposed belemnite casts or in some rare cases impression of ammonites which makes it a fossil filled sedimentary rock.
		Black Feather This jasper was recently discovered in China.
Black & White This is a new stone mined in South Africa.
Blue Jasper This is a classic out for a Sunday drive in Southern California story: Always looking for old mines to explore we stumbled on the blue jasper on a road we hadn’t explored before. We saw large blue jasper rocks but at first we ignored them because we were actually looking for evidence of silver or gold. The really unique blue color wasn’t easy to ignore. We wandered over to the jasper and checked out some pieces and then said "This would make some really awesome jewelry. I want it." So of course we loaded up several pieces of the material to take back with us to work it up to see if it would work up to beautiful jewelry. It did and so here we are.
	Blue Snake Skin This material is mined in Guizhou which is located in southwest China. The mine is in a mountainous region which is about 700 to 800 meters above sea level. It was first discovered by minority ethnic people going up the mountains to look for herbs, but they instead became miners. In this area there are 49 minority ethnic groups which it is the most among all the provinces in China. Each of these minority ethnic groups have their own dialects and culture and cannot easily communicate cross culturally. Therefore, this group does not know how to sell the stones by themselves, so usually they sell them to a few merchants who sell the stones in the market. The people dig in mud by hand to obtain the material so the output is low. As well, roads are not common in this area, so transportation is by a simple railway.
Burma This material was found inside a mountain cave at the border of Burma and China near the Himalayas. The material was found about 100 meters underground and 40 to 50 km from the nearest road. The miner used donkeys to carry 100 to 200kg packs of the rough to the road until there was enough material to sell. It had a great odor of sea water when mined. It is uncertain why it smelled of ocean water but speculate those many years ago, the mine was under the sea.
		Butterfly This jasper if from Benito Juarez, Mexico.
Cabernet Cabernet Jasper comes from Benito Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. It was discovered in summer 2006 and the first batch was mined in December 2006. There is a small hill that is about 3 acres that is full of this material. However, there is about 2 feet of dirt overburden that must be removed to get to it. This jasper has some soft parts to it that is more of a Hickoryite or Rhyolite, but some of it is much harder like Jasper. It is called Cabernet Jasper is because of the wine colors in its appearance.
		Confetti This jasper is a conglomerate material which comes from Benito Juarez, Mexico. It is a new jasper which is open pit mined. The area in Mexico is mainly a Farming, Ranching and Mining community.
Congolian Coastal Congolian Coastal Jasper is mined in South Africa, near south of Lesotho. The mine is located close to the coast and was discovered by a Congolian prospector. The deposit was found approximately in the early 2000’s and is mined by hand. This is one of the only deposits of this material.
	Dawning The material is found in Namibia on a high plateau. This jasper is colorful with amazing stripes and was discovered just within the last few years. The miners began their journey to the mine early in the morning before dawn and so the material was called "Dawning Jasper". Namibia is a newly established country in Africa which was freed from South Africa and won its independence in 1990. It is a country that is rich in natural resources like diamonds, gold, silver, copper, uranium and lead.
Desert Sage Desert sage jasper is found in the Three Fingers Butte collecting area in Oregon, USA. The area has been a well known collection for over 40 years. The jasper was named after its color and its similarity to the sage plants found in the area that it was mined.
		Elephant Skin This jasper resembles the patterned skin of an elephant. It is mined in South Africa.
		Fossil This particular fossil jasper is mined at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua Mexico.
Golden Sand Jasper is an opaque, cryptocrystalline variety of quartz (chalcedony) that takes a high polish and is used as a gemstone. It is usually stained by impurities and occurs in various colors, such as red, green, yellow and blue. Jaspers are powerful healing stones, affecting different chakras and attitudes according to the color of the stone. This material is mined by hand in South Africa.
		Green Chert This jasper is from Australia.
Green Chinese Green Chinese Jasper is mined in several locations throughout the world and has a rich history. Our rough material was mined in China by hand.
	Helianthus The material is mined in South Africa, near to the south of Lesotho. The mine is in a mountain along the eastern coast of South Africa which is facing the east where the sun rises up, so hence the name of Helianthus or Sunflower. There are distinct black, milky white or yellow flower patterns in the stone. The stone has a very good luster and can be highly polished.
Hidden Valley Hidden Valley comes from a very remote part of Southeast Oregon, USA. This area is within the Owyhee Mountain system that is a large area where Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada, come together. It’s located in a box canyon that is very difficult to find, hence the name. The valley was in fact so hard to find, that it was used as a moon shiners hide-out back in old days. Fugitives of justice would hide out in this area because it was so remote. This jasper was formed as a volcanic flow of very fine particulate rich in silica. It forms as a layer of neutral colored jasper just like that of a painter's canvas. Iron Oxides create the color with other trace elements mixed in. The oxides surrounded and permeated the jasper under extreme heat and pressure. This gives the smooth look of natures canvas with waves of rich water colors throughout.
Imperial Imperial Jasper is one of the finest jaspers you will find in the market today. It is found over a wide area in Guadalajara, Mexico. There are many varieties and each “lot” that comes into the United States has some different characteristics from the previously imported material. This jasper forms as nodules and usually has a soft white chalky exterior. The colors are typically shades of cream, pink, red and green.
	Jellyfish The material is a special match of red and dark green color which appears with a nice freeform natural pattern. It was mined at 1,000 feet up in the mountain located at the north eastern part of South Africa. It was called Jellyfish Jasper because the pattern on the stone looked like jellyfish in a deep dark ocean. It is an exclusive gem that is hardly found in the market. The yearly output is about 10 to 15 tons only. The material is mainly sold to China and a little is exported to other western countries.
Lake Victoria This jasper is from South Africa.
Kabamba This particular jasper is mined in Madagascar by hand. It is known for its unusual green color and the black bulls’ eye patterns contained within the natural rough.
	Leopard Ocean The material is found in the Sichuan province which is in the south west of China. It is mined in a mountainous region. In that mountainous region, there is no water supply and no electricity supply. Mining is just by digging with axes. Since there are no roads or railroads in that area, transportation is by means of horses. The horses take the people to the mines and take the material down to the city areas.
Leopard Skin Leopard skin jasper is mined in South Africa.
Monte Cristo This stone comes from near Tonopah, Nevada, USA. It has been a favorite of rock people for many years. It has been featured in craftsman made jewelry and polished rock specimens. It is formed in a rhyolite volcanic flow.
New Scenic This is mined in Mexico in a small deposit by hand.
	Noreena Noreena Jasper occurs in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, not far from the iron ore mining town of Newman, some 700 miles north of the capital, Perth. The rock tends to break into angular pieces which contain the most wonderful "geometric", abstract designs. Until the rock is cut, you do not know what will be revealed. Noreena Jasper is from the same geological formation as Munjina Stone. They both occur in the Jeerinah Formation which is part of the Fortescue Group in the Hamersley Basin. Age is late Archaean & was deposited between 2765 & 2687 million years ago.
Okapi It comes from Okapi, Australia, hence the name. It is located on a sacred aboriginal site, and could only be harvested after negotiating with the local elders of the community.
	Olive Rough material was mined in Yunnan Province which is in the Southwest portion of China. The mine is located in a high mountainous area and was first discovered in February of 2007. There are no roads in this region so the material has to be mined by hand and carried down the mountain each day.
Picture Picture Jasper is widely known for its unique landscape patterns and wide range of colors. Picture Jasper is petrified or silicated mud. It can come from USA and South Africa.
	Polychrome Polychrome Jasper comes from Madagascar. It is a microcrystalline variety of Chalcedony. Every piece that is collected out of the jasper mines is dug by hand. The large boulders that are excavated out of the vein deposits can reach upwards of 140 lbs each. “Polychrome Jasper” means multi-color jasper. From one rock to another the type of multi colored jasper can vary greatly. This type of Polychrome is selected out from many types of Polychrome for its unique pattern sometimes referred to as “egg” or “fish tail”. This type of Polychrome Jasper has also been called “Misty Mountain Jasper “and “Savannah Jasper”. One can only guess that they were naming this jasper from the characteristics of its locality.
Porcelain This material is located high in the mountains near the Sonora, Chihuahua border in Mexico. Evidence indicates that the deposit only 10 yards wide was at one time as sedimentary formation which became highly silicated and as such fractures formed which were filled with iron. The high amounts of iron as they filled the cracks over time are now seen as the veins of purple and red. The cream color base is the perfect back drop to this natural masterpiece that has a truly exotic and sensual feel.
		Red conglomerate Red conglomerate is a new form of jasper that is hand mined in northern Mexico.
Royal Orchids Royal Orchids is mined at the border of China and Nepal. The stone was mainly in brown color with very nice white flower burst distributed evenly. The mine was surrounded by orchid filled mountains and so it was named Royal Orchids Jasper.
		Sahara This stone is mined in South Africa.
Savannah This is a new mine from Madagascar, all mined by hand.
		Scenic This rough was found in Copper Canyon Mexico. It is mined from an open pit and removed by hand so the amounts available are scarce.
Sea floor This jasper is approximately 320 million years old. Mined by hand in North Africa, near Morocco. This stone was an actual living organism 320 million years ago. The coral was buried by sediments probably by a tsunami or something catastrophic event. The sediments deposited on the reef and held together between the corals was rich in calcite. Over much time the coral fossilized. These corals show many similarities to modern day reef building corals. This material was first found by a young shepherd herding his goats. The color is a neutral color from chocolate brown to black and shows a very unusual tight and webbed pattern is very tight and webbed.
Silver Cliffs Silver Cliffs Jasper is mined in Mexico, close to the Copper Canyon Mine.
	Silver Mist Silver mist jasper is mined in the U.S.A.
		Silver Snake Skin The material is mined in Guizhou which is located in the southwest of China.
Snowflake Is a form of picture jasper which displays inclusions of “snowflake” type pictures.
		Solar This material was mined by hand in the USA.
Sunset Sunset Jasper is mined in Australia. It occurs in the Hamersley Ranges of Western Australia on a cattle ranch named Mount Brockman. The geological sequence that it occurs in is known as "Jeerinah Formation" Geographically it is situated just north of a range of hills called Nammuldi Ridge. The whole region hosts large deposits of iron ore which are mined on a massive scale.
		Swallowtail This material is mined in South Africa.
Turtella Turtella jasper is mined in the U.S.A.
Viper This stone is mined in Mexico.
Wooden The material is found in Tanzania, a country in Africa. It is in the eastern part of Africa, near Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo. The material was formed thousands and thousands of years ago. It was formed when trees and plants were covered and compressed by sand. The material was named Wooden Jasper because of the distinct pattern of wood on the material.
Yellow Poppy This jasper is the yellow variation of brecciated jasper. Our material was mined by hand in Madagascar.