What can these green stones be?

[LondonRuby]

Hi everyone,

I'm always picking up stuff wherever I go, and got these two pieces at some point in the past few years.

One has vivid apple green stones with darker spots and the stones feel gritty or porous. The clasp is sterling silver.

The other has a broken stone and no clasp so I bought it to repair one day, but never got round to it. The stones are large and heavy and a lovely dark green which is veined white in places.

I know these aren't high jewellery but would love to know what they're made of and would be grateful for opinions...For some reason I have lots of green jewellery.

Thanks!

 

[LilAlex]

The first one almost looks like ceramic

 

[LondonRuby]

Oh thanks, I never thought of ceramic. Disappointing!

 

[MJ_Mac]

The dark green beads are most likely agate. They look like may be colour enhanced (dyed).

The first necklace is possibly ceramic but is more likely a composite of azurite/malachite (and maybe
lapis) mixed with resin. Azurite is very soft so it is often mixed with with resin to increase its durability. Some are colour fast and some aren’t, so be careful when wearing a white shirt.

I used to work with a lot of semi-precious gemstone beads making fashion jewellery so am fairly familiar with the different varieties. They are not very valuable but can be very beautiful. The most important thing is that you like them.

 

[LondonRuby]

Thank you very much, MJ_Mac!
I love green stones so it doesn't matter if they're not worth much. I have a malachite ring, which I love, and it only cost $2 in a charity shop! And at least two other green gemstone necklaces. I look forward to researching azurite and dyed agate.

 

[MJ_Mac]

Thank you very much, MJ_Mac!
I love green stones so it doesn't matter if they're not worth much. I have a malachite ring, which I love, and it only cost $2 in a charity shop! And at least two other green gemstone necklaces. I look forward to researching azurite and dyed agate.

Have a look at FireMountainGems.com. They are an amazing source of information and have many pictures to compare. Another site is LimaBeads.com. Agate comes in many different colours and patterns. It is a very popular stone and can be very pretty and versatile. Have fun with your research!

 

[LondonRuby]

Oh thanks, will do! Very grateful for these links