Jewelers say the stone’s translucent glow, especially after polishing, has helped generate a new demand.
Green certainly has been the color of summer 2024, propelled by the digital green hue of Charli XCX’s “brat” album cover.
But in the world of jewelry, green has long been a big hit. From emeralds to malachite, tsavorites to teal sapphires, the color’s association with nature and the versatile way it can be paired with other stones just appeal to designers.
So what is the go-to green gemstone now catching the eye of major houses and independent brands alike? Chrysoprase.
The stone, which ranges from a very pale green tint to the color of a Granny Smith apple, has a Greek name (pronounced KRAI-sow-prayz) that translates loosely as “green gold.” The most important commercial mines are in Marlborough, a region in Australia’s Queensland state, and in central Tanzania, but deposits also have been found in Western Australia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Brazil and Indonesia.
Gabor Kigyossy, a gem carver and jewelry designer in London, regularly works with chrysoprase, sculpting it into frogs and leaves as well as traditional cabochons that he said “are very easy to set and design around.”
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