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Peridot is the name given to specimens of yellowish green to bright green olivine that are suitable for producing gems. Peridot serves as the birthstone for the month of August, and that contributes to its customer awareness and popularity. Most gem-quality peridot is found in basalt flows, limestones, and dolomites. Much of the world’s commercial-quality peridot is mined at…

Malachite has been used as a gemstone and sculptural material for thousands of years and is still popular today. People enjoy malachite’s range of vivid green colors, its bright polish, and the bands and eyes displayed on polished surfaces. Its green color does not fade over time, and that is why powdered malachite has been used as…

Jade is a cultural term for a very durable and often beautiful gem material. Although most people immediately associated jade with China, it has been found in other parts of the world and used as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years. Up until the 1860s, mineralogists thought that all jade was the…

Most people have never heard of tsavorite and would be surprised to learn that it is a green garnet. Tsavorite has a wonderful bright green color, and its clarity is superior to emeralds of much higher price for a similar-size gem Tsavorite was discovered in 1967 near the community of Lemshuko in northeastern Tanzania. The prospectors who found…

Emerald is the deep green color variety of the mineral known as beryl. To be an emerald, a beryl must have a rich green color that ranges between bluish green, green, and slightly yellowish green. Pale green specimens and those outside of the required color range should be called “green beryl.” Today, emerald, together with ruby and sapphire, generate…