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Jasper is a mixture of
Chalcedony, Quartz and Opal. It is opaque and comes in a variety of
colors, Including Red, Green, Brown or in combinations of these.
Agates
and Jaspers, think Cryptocrystalline
Agates and Jaspers are a cryptocrystalline (crystals too small to be
seen even by a microscope) variety of Quartz, known as Chalcedony. The
varieties of Chalcedony are divided more by character than by color.
Chalcedony is divided into a host of gemstones that have been named for
locally common varieties. Some of the more beautiful types have retained
their names on a world-wide basis while other names have faded into
obscurity as many of the relatively small local deposits became
exhausted. Some of the more common of these types are chrysoprase (a
pure green agate), Sard (a yellow to brown agate), Sardonyx (banded
Sard), Onyx (black and white Agate), Carnelian (a yellow to orange
Agate), Flint (a colorful and microscopically fibrous Jasper), Jasper (a
colorful opaque Agate) and Bloodstone (a green with red speckled
Jasper). |