Picture Jasper, Natural, Faceted Rondelle, One 8x5mm Strand
Picture Jasper, Natural, Faceted Rondelle, 8x5mm
One strand is 15 to 16 inches long
8x5mm rondelle strands have 70 to 75 pieces
Picture Jasper has rich earthy colors with formations that look an artist painted dark strokes of patterns across the light background. Some patterns are well defined strokes, with others looking washed with color in spots and splatters. Sometimes there is an amazing landscape scene that was formed by nature.
Focal patterns are usually black, brown or red, and are on the white, tan, gray, or pink background. Picture Jasper is worldwide. It is also found in the western areas of the Unites States; California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Washington.
Jasper is a member of the chalcedony family. It is usually an opaque stone with a solid color or an irregular display of colors caused by various mineral impurities. Its colors are usually red, yellow, brown, or green in color and rarely blue. The common red color is due to iron inclusions. It often contains an abundance of impurities, and therefore some regard it as a rock instead of a mineral. Patterns arise during the consolidation process forming flow and depositional patterns in the original silica rich sediment or ash. The Jasper name means "spotted or speckled stone".
Jasper is known to have been a favorite gem in the ancient world; its name can be traced back in Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Assyrian, Greek and Latin. Jasper in mentioned many times in the Bible. Green jasper was used to make bow drills between 4th and 5th millennium BC.
Hardness 6.5-7
This is a natural stone that has had no treatment other than cutting, drilling, and polishing.
The source of these beads is Brazil, and they are cut, drilled and polished in China.