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Apparently Jasper was a favorite gem in ancient times. Jasper is referenced in Assyrian, Greek, Hebrew and Latin literatures. During the medieval times, Jasper was reputed to give the wearer the power to heal insanity and to heal those possessed by devils. During the fourth century, wearing green Jasper was practiced to bring rain as well as to cure snake bites. Jasper amulets have been found engraved with passages from the Book of the Dead by the ancient Egyptians probably to procure safe passage for the deceased while in the realm of the dead. And, according to one source, the word Yasfeh in Exodus 28:20 means Jasper and was the stone on the Ephod representing the tribe of Benjamin.

This mineral can be highly polished and is used for jewelry, seals, snuff boxes and vases. Jasper has a hardness of 6.5 to 7.0 on the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness. Picture Jasper is one of the alternate birthstones of January. Jasper is the state rock of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Many color / banded forms of Jasper are known by special names. For example, Jaspilite is a banded iron formation rock usually found with distinctive bands of Jasper. Egyptian Pebble is a brownish-yellow Jasper. Ocean Jasper usually refers to a specific Jasper found only in one place in Madagascar.

Other names for specific Jaspers include: Achatjaspis, Agate Terreuse, Agathe, Basanite , Bayate, Biggs, Blue Mountain, Bruneau, Chert, Chrysojasper, Cornaline, Creolite, Dallasite, Deschutes, Egyptian Jasper, Iaspis, Jasperite, Jaspis, McDermit Jasper, Orbicular Jasper, Opalite Jasper, Owyhee, Pastelite, Poppy, Quetzalitztli, Riband Jasper, Swiss Lapis (dyed to resemble Lapis Lazuli), Vabanite, Vogelaugenjaspis, Wilkite and Willow Creek. Those mentioned above are far from an exhaustive list but is included to let you know some of the many names for Jasper.

All forms of Jasper are avidly sought after. Every fine-jewelry collection should have several representative examples of each color and style of Jasper.

Colors and Sources:
Jasper is usually brown, red or yellow or a mix of these colors and can have speckles, stripes and / or bands of varying color. Picture Jasper or Scenic Jasper has stylized designs from these stripes and bands and are each one-of-a-kind.

Jasper is found worldwide including the United States of America. Many popular types of Jasper are named from the location of that particular source. Because of the very specific conditions during its formations, many of these popular varieties only occur in one location in the entire world.

Care:
Jasper should be cleaned using lukewarm, mild, soapy water and rinsed with the same temperature water. Avoid sudden changes of temperature and, as with all fine jewelry, remove before doing any type of physical work. Traditional gemstone procedure of storing in soft cloth away from other articles of jewelry hold true, too. Ultrasonic cleaners, steam cleaners and chemicals should never be used.

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FIMO:
FIMO is a man-made, polymer clay. The name FIMO is an acronym based on the name of its inventor, Fifi Rehbinder and the German word mosaik which is translated as blended colors.

Other brand names of polymer clay include Cernit, Friendly Clay, Formello, Modello, Promat and Sculpey .

The FIMO handwork is individually unique to each piece. This handcrafting may show tooling marks, fingerprints and similar hallmarks of the craftsman. Rather than decreasing the value, these hand-craftsmanship marks tend to increase the value dramatically just as a hallmark does on many pieces of prized craftmanship.
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