Not all Indian agates were moss agate, but the ancients highly appreciated those that were, and even deemed these agates the most excellent. To this day, the finest moss agates come from India. The dendritic inclusion gives the stone the appearance of containing vegetable remains or moss, hence the name moss agate. This variety of chalcedony occurs when branching forms of green inclusion penetrate clear quartz or white chalcedony. Moss agate is translucent or transparent quartz distinguished by moss-like green inclusions. Moss Agateįrederick Kunz remarks that no stone used in jewelry in the United States is cheaper, more beautiful or more plentiful than moss agate. Green sapphire is often less appreciated, however, what with the popularity of emerald that often overshadows the green corundum. Indeed resistant to wear and tear, the green corundum is quite suitable for jewelry. Harder than emerald, sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness, scoring 9 out of 10 in the Mohs scale. The best green sapphire is one that is clear and whose color is evenly spread, without showing the faintest tinge of any other color. In shade, this green stone is described as “peacock-colored,” in reference to the hue of the peacock’s tailfeathers. Having been imported from Asia, green sapphire is also known as Oriental emerald. The ancients often confused green sapphire with emerald. 6th Most Beautiful of Green Gemstones From YippeeD, CC BY-SA 4.0 6. Indeed, bloodstone is regarded as a variety of plasma distinguished by its red spots. When the drops on a plasma is red, such stone is called bloodstone, also known as heliotrope. Bloodstone: Plasma with red spotsĪ plasma’s specks can also be yellow or black. The sea-green color of plasma appropriately brings out the goddess, with the white spots constituting the foam from which she was born. For one, they used plasma for an engraved image of the goddess of beauty herself, Venus. White specks resembling salt sprinkles this green stone, which is a variety of chalcedony. Plasma is a green gemstone popular for seals and engraved gems in antiquity. This green stone the Chinese call feits’ ui or “kingfisher plumes.” 7th Most Beautiful of Green Gemstones 7. In highest esteem is the rare translucent jade of a rich emerald green. Jadeite is of a richer green, while nephrite is of a milkier hue. While most people think of all jade stones as the same mineral, jade in fact consists of two chemically separate minerals. Jade is a stone with a milky hue most popular in green. Western cultures were aware of jade, but did not identify the gem separately and simply classified jade as a variety of jasper. It is not only the Chinese who appreciate jade. The shade can also be blue-green.Īventurine’s shimmering brilliance makes the stone stand out as a green gem.

Green aventurine varies in intensity between light green, bright green and dark green. While available in other colors, aventurine occurs mostly in green, usually due to the inclusion of fuchsite mica. Jewelers call the stone’s glittery brilliance aventurescence. The green stone gets this shimmering effect from platy inclusions, usually consisting of mica. Moreover, the old description of the stone known today as chrysoprase is even truer of aventurine than it is of the plain green chalcedony.Ī shimmering appearance characterizes aventurine, which is a translucent variety of chalcedony. The ancients called this green gem jasper. While the ancients did not know of aventurine, they were somehow able to describe the green stone in their lapidaries.įor instance, Pliny of 1st-century Rome spoke of a translucent green stone with specks resembling salt. A copper carbonate, malachite is a soft stone, with its hardness reaching only between 3.5 and 4 out of 10 in the Mohs scale. The weakness of malachite lies in its hardness. These bands can be lighter or darker than malachite’s green body tone. What differentiates malachite from other green gemstones is its undulating bands. Although opaque, malachite’s green color can be quite brilliant and even richer than emerald, which is already reputed to be the most intense of green. Malachite is an opaque stone of a deep green shade. Romans warmly recommended malachite for signets. 10th Most Beautiful of Green Gemstones 10.

Green gems