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serpentine - green stone magic
Bowenite was named after the famous Rhode Island geologist George T. Bowen, who discovered and analyzed it in 1822.
Most rocks that have a green color probably have serpentine in some amount.
Serpentine rocks are classified as common serpentine and precious or noble serpentine, the common serpentine being darker, less translucent and sometimes impure.
The serpentine most frequently used in carving and jewellery is bowenite.
 the low-cost 'jade'
The name serpentine actually refers to a group of of about twenty predominately green minerals that occur in masses of tiny intergrown crystals.
Two translucent varieties of antigorite -- a mineral from the kaolinite-serpentine group -- are known as the "precious serpentines" used in jewelry:
  • bowenite, a translucent light to dark apple green color, often mottled with cloudy white patches and darker veining; and
  • williamsite, a translucent and 'oily' light green serpentine, often spotted with inclusions -- black crystals of chromite or magnetite.

serpentine

Serpentine's relative softness as well as the fact it takes a high polish -- said to leave a 'pleasingly greasy feel' -- have long made this stone attractive to carvers who have used it as a cheaper substitute for jade.
That serpentine is sometimes difficult to distinguish from jade is a testament to the beauty of finer serpentine material -- but also a warning to buyers: many times, expensive and/or antique "jade" objects are not really jade (jadeite or nephrite) but serpentine � or even some other green stone.
Misleading synonyms for serpentine include "Korean jade," "Suzhou jade," "Styrian jade," and "New jade."

symbolic attributes

geographic
state mineral Rhode Island (bowenite)
state stone California
metaphysical
energy projective / yang
planet Saturn
element earth