page_title: Serpentine subgroup
hierarchical_section_title: Serpentine subgroup
caption_attribution_description: English: Earrings made from faceted jasper and sterling silver. Bracelet made from jasper, fluorite, and serpentine. Original designs.
context_page_description: The serpentine subgroup are greenish, brownish, or spotted minerals commonly found in serpentinite rocks. They are used as a source of magnesium and asbestos, and as a decorative stone. The name is thought to come from the greenish color being that of a serpent.
  The serpentine group describes a group of common rock-forming hydrous magnesium iron phyllosilicate minerals, resulting from the metamorphism of the minerals that are contained in ultramafic rocks. They may contain minor amounts of other elements including chromium, manganese, cobalt or nickel. In mineralogy and gemology, serpentine may refer to any of 20 varieties belonging to the serpentine group. Owing to admixture, these varieties are not always easy to individualize, and distinctions are not usually made. There are three important mineral polymorphs of serpentine: antigorite, chrysotile and lizardite.
  The serpentine group of minerals are polymorphous, meaning that they have the same chemical formulae, but the atoms are arranged into different structures, or crystal lattices. Chrysotile, which has a fiberous habit, is one polymorph of serpentine and is one of the more important asbestos minerals.
context_section_description: The serpentine subgroup (part of the kaolinite-serpentine group) are greenish, brownish, or spotted minerals commonly found in serpentinite rocks. They are used as a source of magnesium and asbestos, and as a decorative stone. The name is thought to come from the greenish color being that of a serpent.
  The serpentine group describes a group of common rock-forming hydrous magnesium iron phyllosilicate ((Mg, Fe)₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄) minerals, resulting from the metamorphism of the minerals that are contained in ultramafic rocks. They may contain minor amounts of other elements including chromium, manganese, cobalt or nickel. In mineralogy and gemology, serpentine may refer to any of 20 varieties belonging to the serpentine group. Owing to admixture, these varieties are not always easy to individualize, and distinctions are not usually made. There are three important mineral polymorphs of serpentine: antigorite, chrysotile and lizardite.
  The serpentine group of minerals are polymorphous, meaning that they have the same chemical formulae, but the atoms are arranged into different structures, or crystal lattices. Chrysotile, which has a fiberous habit, is one polymorph of serpentine and is one of the more important asbestos minerals. Other polymorphs in the serpentine group may have a platy habit. Antigorite and lizardite are the polymorphs with platy habit.
  Many types of serpentine have been used for jewellery and hardstone carving, sometimes under the name false jade or Teton jade.
caption: Necklace and earring set made from semiprecious stones.  The spherical green beads are Russian serpentine.  Also used are jasper (red) and fluorite (blue).
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "<KENOX S630  / Samsung S630>", "Image Make": "Samsung Techwin", "Image Model": "<KENOX S630  / Samsung S630>", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Windows", "Image DateTime": "2009:08:03 11:05:52", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "COPYRIGHT, 2007", "Image ExifOffset": "312", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "998", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4512", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "33/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:02:07 22:52:32", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:02:07 22:52:32", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "498797/247808", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "23/4", "EXIF ApertureValue": "0", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "86/25", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "87/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "726", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1159", "EXIF RelatedSoundFile": "RelatedSound", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "872", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "1", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "52", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "255", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}