Did You Know That There Are 51 Different Types of Green Gemstones?
If you are anything like me you are probably find it
difficult to tell the difference between the different types of gems. There are
so many typed of gems and each one seems to come in such a wide varieties of
colours. Take green gemstones for example. Most of us relate green gemstones to emeralds,
but actually there are at least 51 different types of green gemstones existing.
Green gemstones are one of the most common coloured stones
there are. They make exquisite unique jewelry. A lot of of the precious and semi-precious stones such as diamonds,
sapphires, garnets and amethysts come as green gemstones as well as the usual
colours we associate with them. It is quite hard for the ordinary person to differentiate
between the different green gemstones existing. In the following paragraphs I will highlight some of the characteristics of the more familiar green gemstones used in jewelry:-
1. Emeralds
When I think of green gemstones I think of Emeralds, the
birthstone for May. The best emeralds are pure verdant green gemstones with a high
degree of transparency. They are all green gemstones, and do not come in any
other colour. However some emeralds may have a yellow or blue secondary hue. Emeralds
were the favourite of Cleopatra because she believed they would offer her
eternal youth. Emeralds usually have inclusions and surface fissures which makes
them quite fragile. Perfectly smooth and transparent emeralds are rare and very
valuable.
2. Diamonds
We all think of diamonds as being colourless and transparent
but in actual fact diamonds can occur naturally in many different colours
including green gemstones which are extremely rare and expensive. Colored
Diamonds are called Fancy Coloured Diamonds and form naturally when they
contain certain impurities. The green
gemstones variety are formed both naturally or under laboratory conditions as a
result of irradiation of pure diamonds. Most of the green gemstones available
today are actually irradiated then heat treated in the lab. The most famous is
the Dresden Diamond which is a 41 carat natural green gemstone. Diamonds are
the birthstone for April.
3. Sapphires
Most people think of sapphires as blue to
match the sky, but they in fact occur naturally in many colours such as black,
yellow, pink and green gemstones. Coloured sapphires belong to a group called Fancy
Coloured Sapphires. Technically speaking a ruby is chemically a red sapphire.
All sapphires belong to a group of minerals called corundum. Sapphire is the
birthstone for those born in September.
Star Sapphires can also be found as green gemstones
4. Alexandrite
Alexandrite is a fascinating stone because it changes
colour. They are green gemstones during the day but change to red at night under incandescent light. It
is a form of chrysoberyl. Different
varieties of alexandrite produce different colors. Alexandrite is one of the
birthstones for June.
5. Garnet
As well as the usual red, garnets also found
naturally as yellow, black and green gemstones. There are several species
of garnets which all possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but
differ in chemical composition.
The green gemstones can be found in three different garnet
species which are chemically different.
1) The
andradite species which is further subdivided
into the varieties topazolite (golden-yellow variety), Melanite (black) and
demantoid . The Demantoid garnet is the
most expensive kind of garnet and one of the most precious of all gems due to a
combination of its rarity and incredible luminosity. The demantoid are bright
green gemstones with a slight yellow hue.
2) Grossular garnet which includes the
Tsavorite which are very rich bright green gemstones
3) Uvarovite, one of the rarest garnet
species, are beautiful and consistently green gemstones
Color-changing
varieties of garnet also exist. Garnet is the birthstone for January.
6. Tourmaline
Tourmalines are usually black, red (rubellites) and yellow,
but they also occur as green gemstones, also known as verdelite which comes from Brazil. Tourmaline belongs to a
complex family of aluminum borosilicates and several species are known. Watermelon tourmaline are green gemstones on
one end and pink on the other.
7. Peridot
Peridot are green gemstones from the
mineral olivine. Like emeralds and citrine, peridot is one of the very few
stones that have only one color but ranges from olive green gemstones , to
brownish, to almost yellow — all with a glassy luster. Peridot is the
birthstone for the month of August and along with emerald was a favourite of
Cleopatra.
8. Prasiolite
Prasiolite or vermarine as it is also
known are the semi-precious green gemstones of amethysts. Amethysts are made of violet quartz, and
citrine is made of yellow quartz. Natural prasiolite crystals are rare, with
small supply coming from Brazil,
Poland and Canada. Most prasiolite stones sold
in the market are treated amethyst.
9. Opal
Opals come in a range of gorgeous colours
but one of the prettiest are the green gemstones, especially those which fire
against white background. However a black body tone is much more valuable. Most
opals with a greenish hue come from Australia.
10. Spinel
The most popular type of spinel is red but
it also is found as black, yellow, white, and green gemstones. Spinel can be glassy
to dull in luster. However the green gemstones are gray or dark in intensity
and are not very appropriate for jewelry. The yellow and the green gemstones
are quite rare, and most end up with collector’s.
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11. Pearl
The most familiar pearls are white, cream or black but they
also come in a diversity of colours including green gemstones. Light green gemstones
are produced by Japan’s
Akoya oysters, while the dark green gemstones are produced by the black pearl
oyster, whose pearls are often a variation of black. Pearl is the birthstone June.
12. Topaz
As well as the yellow and red we all know
so well, topaz also occurs as green gemstones. These semi-precious stones are fairly
rare and only occur naturally in a number of localities, including Brazil, the United
States, Sri Lanka
and Myanmar.
Colorless topaz can also be treated a gem lab to create green gemstones.
13. Jade
There are two types of jade , jadeite and nephrite. Jadeite
is a green gemstone and is the most expensive variety of the jade stones. It
comes in many shades, the most valuable being the translucent and intensely
green gemstones. The other variety of jade, nephrite, is more abundant than jadeite but also occurs
as a green gemstone. Neprhrite has fewer colour varieties than jadeite which
has a broad range of colours. While green gemstones are most recognizable as
jade, jadeite is more commonly found in white,
gray-green, pale blue-gray, or
even a pale purple. Jade has been used
for eons in China and Central America as an ornamental and religious stone of
deep significance.
14. Amber
Amber as we know it is most often yellow.
But it can also occur as red, blue or green gemstones. Amber is fossilized
resin from evergreen trees preserved under high pressure. The thing I love
about amber is that it is warm to the touch. The green gemstones are more
valuable if they have fossil inclusions.
15. Agate
Green gemstones of agate are found as a banded variety of
chalcedony, which is a member of the quartz group of minerals. Several types of
agate produce stones with the greenish hues in the stripes. Agate is the birthstone
for June.
16. Moss agate
Moss agate is not technically an agate because it is really
a different variety of chalcedony. Green gemstones of moss agate lack the
concentric banding that characterizes agate. Moss agate is distinguished for its
inclusions, which resembles moss
against the clear quartz.
17. Moonstone
Moonstone is made of feldspar comparable to orthoclase,
labradorite, andesine, sunstone and oligoclase. While moonstone is best known
for its opalescent white colour on blue, it can also occur as brown, black or
green gemstones. Moonstone is the birthstone for August.
18. Bloodstone
Bloodstone is chalcedony which is also called heliotrope. It
is similar to jasper, carnelian, onyx and agate. Bloodstones are green
gemstones which are speckled with red intrusions, which may be red jasper.
These semi-precious stones are the birthstones for December.
19. The Other Varieties of Green Gemstones
Other green gemstones which are used in jewelry manufacture
are Serendibite, Sphene, Chrysoberyl,
Zircon, Smithsonite, Andalusite, labradorite (Andesine), Idocrase, Bowenite,
Sphalerite, Kornerupine, Apatite, Chrome Diopside, Enstatite, Sunstone,
Hiddenite, Moldavite, Zoisite,
Maw-sit-sit, Malachite, Fluorite, Chrysoprase, Chrome Chalcedony, Aventurine,
Prehnite, Gaspeite, Jasper, Seraphinite, Variscite, Amazonite, Chrysocalla,
Unakite, Fuchsite and Maripolite.
There are too many to discuss in this article but I hope I
have given you a basic understanding of the basics of gemology. Quite frankly
I find it quite difficult to differentiate between the different types of green
gemstones and would need to rely on the services of a jeweller or a gem lab to
ensure that I was truly getting what I was paying for.
From the limited description above you can see that green gemstones
come in all forms varying from very rare and valuable to relatively inexpensive
varieties. As I said at the beginning
there are 51 types of green gemstones so having the expertise to differentiate
between them all is very important. I love the earthy look and feel of green
gemstones which when used in jewelry creation indicate a degree of beauty,
elegance and sophistication.
