Prehnite
by cat on Jan.23, 2012, under Green Gemstones
Prehnite is the fresh mint of gemstones. It’s a pearly translucent green color and is sometimes confused with nephrite jade or chrysoprase. It’s not an expensive stone but faceted prehnite is kind of rare. Usually only collectors will possess prehnite that’s faceted so pricing is impossible until it comes to the commercial market.
Prehnite is usually seen in jewelery as beads or cabochons, which are widely available. The soft green color makes a pleasing look to prehnite jewelry, which sometimes appears to glow because of the translucency. It’s almost a pearly appearance when polished.
Speaking of polishing, prehnite must be fully worked by a gemologist before its beauty is revealed. Polishing the gemstone will bring out the pearl-like qualities that make Prehnite so attractive in jewelry.
As far as the history goes, it was first brought to the European market in the late 1700s from South Africa by Colonel von Prehn. It’s also found in Scotland and Michigan, as well as Canada, Germany, India, Nambia and Australia.
Malachite
by cat on Dec.11, 2011, under Green Gemstones
Malachite is one of my favorite green gemstones because its color is just so bold, rich and saturated. There’s lots of malachite in the world, so it’s an inexpensive material. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most beautiful green gemstones and is used in many creative ways by jewelry designers of all styles.
The malachite color is kelly green, very rich and saturated and opaque. There are darker green bands through it, with some whitish bands in some stones. The color of malachite is so rich and unique that malachite jewelry is huge fun to brighten up a wardrobe. For example, a malachite necklace on a long chain is so cool with anything worn in the mustard color family, maybe even with touches of red here and there. Kind of in a mod way… it’s a bold color and mod style likes bold colors.
Anyway, the malachite color is actually what makes copper statues turn green. That goes for bronze as well. As copper and bronze tarnish, they turn green as the malachite shows itself.
If you lean towards the new age side of the barn, then malachite is often worn by travelers as a protection against the dangers of being on the road.