the.com/chrysoprase
the apple-green gem that owes its glow to nickel hiding in plain sight
means Chrysoprase is a translucent, apple-green variety of chalcedony quartz prized as a gemstone, colored by traces of nickel.
from From the Greek 'chrysos' (gold) and 'prason' (leek), so literally 'golden leek' — a nod to its green, leek-like hue with a golden cast. The word came into English through Latin and Old French, and it appears in old translations of the Bible among the stones of the New Jerusalem, which kept the name alive for centuries.
- color source
- Nickel impurities tint it green, not chromium
- true identity
- It's chalcedony, a microcrystalline form of quartz
- royal fan
- Frederick the Great decorated his palaces with it
- fading risk
- Heat and sunlight can drain its color away
- old name
- Greek for golden leek, despite being green
chrysoprase from poland — distinctive green chalcedony mined in lower silesia, historically a major european source since the 18th century
chrysoprase from australia — high-quality deposits in western australia near marlborough, now the world's primary commercial source