Gems, Precious Stones, Precious Metals - Jasper

Jasper - Gem Color 9 - #D73B3E

Jasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. 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. Jaspilite is a banded iron formation rock that often has distinctive bands of jasper. Jasper is basically chert which owes its red color to iron inclusions. The jasper is one of the traditional birthstones for March.

Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite. Chalcedony has a waxy luster, and may be semitransparent or translucent.

The name means "spotted or speckled stone," and is derived via Old French jaspre (variant of Anglo-Norman jaspe). Jasper can be modified by the diffusion of minerals.