Chrysoprase is an opalescent green chalcedony quartz, and it features a lovely and intense light blue-green color.
Multicolored chrysoprase strands include the famed translucent light green as well as translucent and opaque olive, moss green, coppery hues, opaque brown, and flecks of black.
Lemon chrysoprase beads are also known as citron beads and lemon magnesite beads. These semiprecious gems offer a lighter yellow-green hue than true chrysoprase, and are actually a form of magnesite with brown to light-tan veining. The distinction between chrysoprase (a valuable, opalescent green chalcedony quartz) and lemon chrysoprase might simply be the amount of the underlying mineral (quartz vs. magnesite). For a while, our lemon chrysoprase was nicer than most on the market, but now the greenest, best-quality variety is nearly impossible to find.
