Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Serpentine

A group of green magnesium silicate minerals with a smooth, waxy feel, often carved and sometimes sold as imitation jade.

The classic green ornamental gem, either jadeite or nephrite, valued for millennia for its toughness and rich color, especially imperial green.

A green, often mottled metamorphic rock formed by the hydration of mantle rocks, soft and waxy with a smooth, slippery feel.

A rich green, fuchsite-rich metamorphic rock from southern Africa, prized as a carving and ornamental stone.

A green ornamental stone, often serpentine-rich marble or verde antique, valued for its rich green color and white veining.

A green, gold-associated metamorphic rock made of chrome-rich mica and quartz, named for Mariposa County in California's gold country.

A water-bearing massive grossular garnet, usually green or pink, widely used as a tough jade-like carving stone.