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Assorted Jasper Rings
Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow or brown in color. This mineral breaks
with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals,
and at one time for snuff boxes. When the colors are in stripes or bands, it is called striped or banded jasper. The
name means "spotted or speckled stone", and is derived from Greek "iaspis."
Jasper appears as an opaque rock of shades of red due to mineral impurities. Patterns can arise from the formation
process and from flow patterns in the volcanic ash that was saturated with silica to form jasper, yielding bands or swirls
in the rock.
Jasper may be permeated by dendritic minerals providing the appearance of vegetative growths. The jasper may
have been fractured and/or distorted after formation, later rebonding into discontinuous patterns or filling with another
material.
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THis is a very pretty 6x11 long oval cabochon that I cut from a small piece of jasper I found in a gravel pit north of
Iron Mountain, Mi. It was the only piece I found that day and it was almost the exact size and shape that it it is now
after I polished it into a gemstone. Size: 9½
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I cut and polished this really interesting and unusual 14x16 cabochon of green jasper that I had i one of my many drawers
full of rough gemstones. Where it came from originally and how I ended up with it are both mysteries to me, but I really
like this material and wish I had more! Mounted on a size 5½ handmade split shank ring.
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