Green Sheen Obsidian

Green Sheen Obsidian is an obsidian variety that shows a green shimmer over a black glassy body when viewed at the proper angle. It is part of the sheen-obsidian group alongside silver, gold, and purple sheen types.

The material is natural black volcanic glass; the green is an optical sheen, not a transparent body color, created by thin aligned layers of nanoscale inclusions or gas bubbles that scatter and interfere with light.

Green sheen obsidian should not be confused with the bright, evenly green 'green obsidian' frequently sold as crystals, which is usually manufactured glass rather than natural volcanic material.

Like all obsidian, it forms when silica-rich lava is quenched into an amorphous glass. During flow, microscopic inclusions, tiny gas bubbles or mineral nanoparticles, aligned themselves along planes within the cooling melt.

Light reflecting from these closely spaced parallel layers produces interference colors; when the spacing favors green wavelengths, a green sheen results. Because the sheen depends on the orientation of these layers, it is directional and changes as the stone is moved. Different layer spacings in other specimens give silver, gold, blue, or purple sheens instead.

Confirm obsidian: conchoidal fracture, vitreous luster, hardness ~5-5.5, white streak. The key feature is a green sheen, a shimmer that floats over a black body and shifts with angle, rather than transparent green color.

Tilt under light to see the green sweep across the surface.

Look-alikes: transparent green manufactured glass (uniform color, round bubbles), moldavite (a natural green tektite glass, but body-colored and translucent), green aventurine and serpentine (crystalline, harder). True green sheen obsidian is black with a directional green shimmer.

Green Sheen Obsidian is fashioned into cabochons, beads, spheres, and tumbled stones cut to maximize the sheen. It is an affordable ornamental stone, more valued when the sheen is bright and even.

It is used chiefly in jewelry and decorative pieces.

Metaphysically it is marketed for heart-centered healing, growth, and abundance, claims that are spiritual rather than scientific. Its desirability comes from the shifting green glow over dark glass.