Gemmological Characteristics and Mineral Components of "American Apple-Green" Jade

A new kind of jade product named “American apple-green” has appeared on gem market recently,which is mainly sold as ornaments and carvings,and is increasingly more and more popular.The colour of the jade is apple green,and some have white spots in different sizes on the surface.Its refractive index is 1.560and the density is 2.555g／cm³,which are very similar to that （respectively 1.560 and 2.500±0.080g／cm³）of variscite.Through the conventional gemmological testing,Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy（LIBS）,Infrared absorption spectra and X-ray powder diffraction,it is confirmed that the main mineral component of the “American apple-green” sample is variscits with a small amound of woodhouseite,and the main mineral component of the white spots is cryptocrystalline quartz. Therefore,it is initially determined that the “American apple-green” jade could be green variscite from the United States.