Serpentine Crystals from Peru
Highly polished serpentine crystals in larger sizes. These stones have an incredibly smooth texture and exhibit a dull lustre. This means they absorb light instead of reflecting it.
Serpentine does not occur as individual crystals but instead crystallises in masses. Minerals with this crystal habit occur as one large mass of tightly intergrown crystals.
Many references online state 'new jade' is an alternative name for serpentine. This is misleading because jade and serpentine are two different minerals.
This trade name may have come about because some less valuable varieties of serpentine are dyed to imitate jade. With that said, some finer varieties can look very similar to jade but serpentine is considerably cheaper.
The name is believed to have come about because the colour, markings and rough scaly texture of serpentine was believed to resemble a serpent. The name comes from the Latin 'serpentinus' meaning 'serpent rock' or 'serpens' meaning 'snake'.
Serpentine is not one mineral but a group of many. The chemical composition of these minerals can vary significantly. Stones can be found in white, grey, yellow, green and greenish blue. The one thing all varieties have in common is they come from serpentinite rocks.
Serpentine was used by the Romans because being relatively soft, it could be carved with fine detail. A Roman intaglio featuring a lion-headed God in Egyptian dress that has been dated to the 2nd or 3rd century AD is on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Our serpentine crystals are a large sized stone. Size can vary from piece to piece.
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