The Wonderful World of Gemstones

Dalmatian jasper

Know how you smile whenever you see a "fire engine" dog? This opaque, white jasper spotted with brown and black is one of those "stranger stoppers" that will make people turn around and look back when they walk past you. While jasper may also be multi-colored or striped, its name comes from the Greek and means "spotted stone." It makes me wonder if it wasn't Dalmatian jasper the Greeks had seen when they gave a name to this chalcedony. These beads take on a more formal look when combined with black "jade" or black onyx. But, if you want jewelry that is lively, try its various shapes strung in multiple-strands. Dalmatian jasper is so full of life, it practically wiggles.

General Gemstone Details

The ancient Egyptians wore jasper scarabs as amulets as th stone was believed to increase sexual energy. According to the Bible, jasper was a direct gift from God and would be the first foundation stone of the New Jerusalem. Also, both Indians in Asia as well as Native Americans see jasper as a magical rain stone and also a powerful healing stone.

Mineral Information    Silicate, chalcedony, quartz group

Chemical Composition SiO2

Color White with brown and black spots

Hardness   6-1/2 - 7

Specific Gravity   2.58-2.91

Refractive Index  About 1.54

It Looks Like a Dog?

Metaphysical/Healing Properties

Dalmatian jasper is just the stone you need when you want a pick-me-up. Jasper helps us release our tendencies to over think or over analyze things. When you wear it, your mood lifts immediately. I like to wear it to places where people are expecting to have a dull time. The night starts off better and that makes a difference in the outcome of the whole evening.

Traditionally when worn as a decorative necklace jasper is known to combat exhaustion.

Dalmatian Jasper will cleanse and gently energize your auric field.

It is calming stone that helps to strengthen family loyalties and give you the ability to sense who is a true friend and to see through scams.  It encourages working with others and unity when working with animals.  Dalmatian Jasper is a wonderful stone for those who work in the veterinary or animal fields.

Dalmatian Jasper is the perfect stone to wear when you need help to view your own strengths and weaknesses.  This form of Jasper also helps to keep you grounded to the Earth.  A superb gift for a friend as it also represents loyalty and long term relationship.

It is also a protection amulet for those who suffer from nightmares, negative thinking, depression and also helpful in keeping one relaxed and in good spirits.

Dalmatian Jasper is a fantastic stone for telepathic communication with animals.

Jasper is protective. It can align all the chakras and balance yin yang energies, it is stabilizing and healing. Legend says that Jasper would drive away evil spirits and protect against snake and spider bites. In the fourth century it was thought to bring about the rain.

As well, Jaspers of all kinds have long been attributed magical powers in just about every culture known to man. Jasper was used in Ancient European times as a "rain bringer" and it is interesting to note that the word for jasper in some American Indian cultures also meant, "Rain Bringer".

Chakras - Base Chakra

Zodiac - Virgo

Planet - Earth

Typical colors - light brown with black spots

Dalmation Jasper, also known as "Dalmation Stone", is a grounding stone, in terms of with the Earth and in reality.  It removes disillusionment, helping one to see their strengths and weaknesses more clearly.  Dalmation Jasper brings a sense of fun to one's life and helps to increase loyalty in relationships.  It purifies the blood and boosts the immune system.

"What is Dalmatian Stone? – It is not a Jasper

I could not help but to share this article from www. RockTumbler.com.

“Dalmatian Stone,” also called “Dalmatian Jasper,” is a white to cream-colored material with black spots that is produced in Chihuahua, Mexico. It reminds people of the Dalmatian breed of dogs – and that is where it gets its name. It is very easily polished to a bright luster and is a familiar semi-precious stone that is cut into beads, spheres, cabochons and carvings. It is also commonly seen as tumbled stones.

Dalmatian stone is porous and readily accepts dye. Dyed Dalmatian stone beads and tumbled stones are commonly seen at gem shows and in bead catalogs. Dyed Dalmatian stone is a common material found in our Souvenir Mix.

The white background of Dalmatian stone is easily penetrated by the dye to produce vividly colored stones. This allows bead and tumbled stone manufacturers to start with a common, inexpensive, and easily-worked material and transform it into a lustrous, brightly-colored material with a much higher sales appeal.

It Doesn’t Look Like Jasper

We didn’t like calling Dalmatian stone a “jasper.” Unfortunately, we could not identify it with confidence. The black spots are sharply defined, not concentric, and often arranged in a linear pattern (see photo at right). We thought that Dalmatian stone looked more like an igneous rock than a jasper.

In an attempt to answer our question we consulted mineralogy, petrology and gemology books in our library; searched Google many times; and, wrote to a few people who sell Dalmatian stone or work with it. However, we did not find an answer that satisfied us.

X-Ray Diffraction

We decided to send a few pieces to John Attard for x-ray diffraction, a laboratory analysis that identifies minerals and other materials with a crystalline structure. He crushed the specimens and determined that the black material was very slightly magnetic. He used magnetic separation to isolate some of the black material from the light matrix.

John’s analysis determined that the black material is the mineral arfvedsonite, an amphibole similar to hornblende, with a composition of Na3(Fe,Mg)4FeSi8O22(F,OH)2.

The white material is a mixture of the mineral albite, a plagioclase feldspar with a composition of Na(AlSi3O8), and lesser amounts of quartz (SiO2).

It’s An Igneous Rock!

Jasper is a microcrystalline variety of quartz but the composition of our Dalmatian stone is much more interesting. It is a mixture of minerals and therefore it is a rock. The types of minerals in the rock are those that crystallize from a melt. So, instead of being a jasper, Dalmatian stone is an igneous rock.

by RockTumbler.com."