Rings & Things Jewelry Blog

Serpentine   is a lovely green translucent, waxy silicate of magnesium. it is often mistaken for various types of jade, and some stones called "jade" are actually types of serpentine. A major difference between the two semi precious stones is that serpentine is softer and less dense than most real jade. Its name comes from the word "serpent," or snake, perhaps because of its mottled green colors and patterns that can resemble snakeskin. Most of serpentine's history is tied in with the histo …

For centuries, the word jade applied to green gemstones brought to Europe from China and Central America. It wasn't until 1863 that society realized the term "jade" was being applied to two different minerals. These two gemstones, nephrite and jadeite, are relatively hard to distinguish from each other, and both are still called jade. Varieties of serpentine have also been confused with jade throughout history, and some serpentine is still called jade. In fact, the Chinese word for jade is appli …