Is Aquaprase® treated?

GIA ruled out irradiation in 2015 and found a spectroscope result inconsistent with an organic dye – “consistent with natural-colour chalcedony”. The producer confirms that no oil or wax is used.

What will a laboratory report say?

Chalcedony. Aquaprase® is the trade name.

Where does Aquaprase® come from?

From Africa. The exact locality is kept confidential to protect the deposit.

Can I reorder a matrix stone?

No. Each pattern formed once and will not repeat.

How do I buy Aquaprase® in Europe?

Exclusively through Noble Facets: send us shapes, sizes and quantities, and we prepare a selection. There is no minimum order.

Aquaprase® – Exclusive European Distribution

A bluish-green chalcedony coloured by chromium and nickel – introduced by its trade mark owner as the first new gemstone discovered in the 21st century.

Now available to the European trade, from stock in Idar-Oberstein.

Book a viewing in Idar-Oberstein

Request Aquaprase®

Chromium and nickel chalcedony from Africa

What is Aquaprase®?

Aquaprase® is the trade name for a bluish-green chalcedony from Africa. Its colour comes from chromium and nickel – unlike chrysoprase, whose apple green comes from nickel alone.

GIA described the material in Gems & Gemology in 2015 as a chalcedony unlike anything the laboratory had examined, and a peer-reviewed study in Crystals (2024) explains its mineralogy.

Noble Facets is the exclusive European distributor.

Data sheet

The key gemmological properties of Aquaprase® at a glance.

The story behind the stone

Aquaprase® was found in Africa in 2014 by gem explorer Yianni Melas (@gemexplorer), a GIA graduate and former GIA instructor. The rough was being traded as chrysoprase; he was certain it was something else.

He submitted material for examination, and in 2015 GIA described it in Gems & Gemology as a bluish-green chalcedony unlike anything the laboratory had seen. The 2024 study in Crystals – co-authored by Melas – examined its mineralogy and colour in detail: chromium and nickel colour the stone.

The name. “Aqua” is Latin for water, for the sea-blue the stone reflects. “Prase” comes from the Greek prason, the old gemmological term for green quartz. Together they describe a natural blue-green between sea and leaf.

Close-up of Aquaprase®: bluish-green chalcedony with white and red-brown matrix patterns

Two looks – no two stones alike

Translucent or matrix – and a very limited number of stones that come out of the ground in dark emerald green.

A note on light: in reflected light Aquaprase® reads bluish green; with light passing through it, the colour drifts towards yellow-green. This is light scattering inside the stone, not an alexandrite-type colour change. Photograph it in reflected light.

Translucent

Even bluish green and high translucency, for the top of the display. Contrary to what most people expect, this is the more common type.
Matrix

Blue-green clouds in white chalcedony, often with brown iron banding. All of it is chalcedony, not host rock. Every matrix stone is a one-off and cannot be reordered.
Mirror pairs

A rough piece sawn in half gives two faces that mirror each other – a natural match for earrings.

Aquaprase®, chrysoprase or gem silica?

In short: chrysoprase is nickel, gem silica is copper, Aquaprase® is chromium and nickel. Separating Aquaprase® from other chromium-bearing chalcedonies is a laboratory question, answered by the 2024 study.

Why jewellers stock Aquaprase®

It is genuinely new – a reason for customers to come in and ask, and for local press to write about you.
One sentence that holds up at the counter: irradiation ruled out, colour consistent with natural-colour chalcedony, mechanism published.
It cannot be price-checked online. Every matrix piece is unique.
Two price points, one story: matrix as accessible one-offs, translucent for the premium display.
One line into Europe: controlled availability, consistent European terms and a number someone answers.

What we supply

Cabochons in standard shapes and freeforms
Faceted stones in standard cuts and freeforms
Mirror pairs cut from a single rough
Strands with round and baroque beads
All with or without matrix

Terms: no minimum order. Availability and prices on request. Selections against your brief, with photos; documentation and European trade terms on request; viewings in Idar-Oberstein by appointment.

FAQ

Request Aquaprase®

Tell us what you are looking for – shapes, sizes, translucent or matrix – and we send you a selection with photos. Prefer to talk? WhatsApp or call +49 151 54926966.