Let's Begin...
There is not a great deal of literature out there on 6th to 8th Vein Ocean Jasper in the crystal community. Our greatest learnings have all happened from one another; collectors who are obsessed with this aesthetically pleasing, orby material that just seems to scratch the perfect itch when it comes to aesthetically pleasing patterns.
This body of work is based on my own research through speaking with fellow collectors & Ocean Jasper enthusiasts.
This is by no means an extensive compilation of knowledge. It is a starting point. Especially for us visual learners, to have a guide that graphically depicts the physical characteristics of these veins of Ocean Jasper which are, most often, considered the most confusing to novice collectors. To help you demystify the identification of some of the most popular veins in Ocean Jasper.
Left: Kabamby Ocean Jasper from Kabamby, Madagascar. Right: 8th Vein Ocean Jasper from Marovato, Madagascar. Image credit: Priestess Crystals.
What is Ocean Jasper? Can we call all material, Ocean Jasper?
What many in the crystal community do not know about this popular stone is that Ocean Jasper is a trademarked name. The name itself is patented and cannot be used for any material that was not mined outside of this area (including the commonly mislabeled purple/red/green 'ocean jasper' we see made into polished crystal animals & figurines.
It refers to an orbicular chalcedony mined in a very specific mining region of coastal Marovato, Madagascar (for the material with defined orbicular patterns) and further north in Kabamby where one finds the ochre & pink coloured material with loosely defined orbs.
Much of the material labelled as 'ocean jasper’ on the market, is in fact, not OJ at all. The bulk of it being Sea Jasper mined from areas outside of the Marovato & Kabamby regions in Madagascar. We will compare the two in a future post.
For now, let's get into Veins 6-8.
6th Vein Ocean Jasper
6th Vein Ocean Jasper palmstone that exhibits dark green colouration, with dilated white orbs that have grey-yellow centres. Image credit: Priestess Crystals
6th Vein Ocean Jasper
From material I have witnessed, the colour variety has the most overlap with 8th Vein Ocean Jasper. This is also the reason why this stone is so commonly mislabeled on the market (especially for the green and white iterations of this vein).
If I had a dime for every time I saw 6th Vein being sold as the 8th, I would probably have enough to get a Starbucks coffee. Which is decent enough.
Sellers, often overseas third-party vendors, will polish the raw material into very alluring, popular shapes such as towers and spheres and slap the label of 8th Vein OJ on top. Whether that is knowingly or unknowingly, I cannot speak for them.
How they got their hands on this material is another very interesting question for us to ponder...
What I can say is that this OJ confusion has transferred to buyers, who are often crystal shop owners, that go onto resell the material as 8th Vein. Again, often unknowingly. It's a bit like the blind leading the blind for lack of a better expression. In part due to the lack of organised literature on the topic, until now.
6th Vein Material Characteristics & Quality
High quality 6th Vein material has well defined orbicular patterns and a wonderful colour combination to boot. Dark forest greens set against creamy white orbs are just one iteration of this vein. The other spectrum blends into grey toned greens & blues with those same creamy, white orbs.
An excellent specimen of high-quality 6th Vein Ocean Jasper that depicts the colour & pattern variation one can expect in 6th Vein material. Dark green material blends into grey-blues featuring peach to grey toned orbs. Image credit: Priestess Crystals.
Low quality 6th Vein material has less defined, dilated orbs, with predominately brown to grey patterns. Refer to image above.
Note...
A general rule of thumb for quality when looking at colour & pattern alone is: striking orbicular patterns with vibrant colours = high quality. Less defined orbs with pale, dull colouration = low quality.
Colours: Vast colour range from moody greys demarcated by yellow toned orbs. Dark green material that transitions into grey-blues featuring peach to grey toned orbs.
Example:
Here is an example of a 6th Vein Ocean Jasper palmstone I cleaned for a customer in a TikTok video. You can watch this once you read the blog for your entertainment ;)
Priestess Crystals | Alisha (@priestesscrystals_) | TikTok
7th Vein Ocean Jasper
7th Vein Ocean Jasper tumbled stones. Image credit: Priestess Crystals.
7th Vein Ocean Jasper
In between we have 7th Vein Ocean Jasper. The middle child between 6th and 8th Vein that sticks out like a sore thumb in the best possible way.
Not only is she really pretty - she is also one of the easiest veins to identify from a visual perspective.
Colours: Colours in this material are predominantly green, light yellow and white. You can also find chalcedony in peachy pink and blue inclusions in this stone which are absolutely fabulous. The 7th Vein also happens to be Sach’s (the other half of Priestess Crystals) favourite vein to date. As for me, I like 'em all, we will blame my Libra rising for that.
Material Characteristics & Quality.
High quality 7th Vein is characterised by flower, plume-like patterns set against a vibrant deep forestry green jasper background. Orbicular patterns can also be present. It seems to be the work of magical fairies that have left little flower footprints behind in this stone. You can see what I mean from this photo:
High quality 7th Vein Ocean Jasper Freeform that displays characteristic forest green colouration with floral plume-like patterns. Image credit: Priestess Crystals
In the lower grade material, you can find orb patterns as well as material that features more yellow inclusions and paler tones of green as per the images below:
Examples of low-grade 7th Vein Ocean Jasper that feature predominately yellow & brown tones, minimal green colouration. The characteristic floral plume patterns are non-existent in the lower grade. Orbicular features are present with sprawling yellow-cream chalcedony in between the green. Image credit: Left- The Rocks and Scents LLC, Right- HandyNat
8th Vein Ocean Jasper
Left- 8th Vein Ocean Jasper Sphere. Right- Collector's Blue Orb 8th Vein Ocean Jasper Palmstone Image credit: Priestess Crystals
8th Vein Ocean Jasper
8th Vein Ocean Jasper is the newest and smallest deposit of OJ discovered to date. Reports of its discovery date back to late 2021-early 2022 with the deposit only lasting approximately 6 months before it was completely mined out.
By far, the most popular variation of this orbicular chalcedony is the orby Blue 8th Vein material. It is the latest vein of Ocean Jasper that has been discovered (although I am sure there are many more veins we will come to see in the near future).
Since the mining of this stone is regulated and controlled by a large company in Madagascar, I speculate there could be a gradual titration of new releases to the public to spark interest & the ongoing OJ ‘craze’. One of my many lowkey conspiracy theories on this very popular stone.
Material Characteristics & Quality.
This vein has very well-defined orbicular patterns and a wonderful variety of colour which has significantly contributed into its popularity amongst OJ enthusiasts and novel collectors of the stone.
Less well known, is jelly/translucent 8th Vein Ocean Jasper (except amongst OJ enthusiasts, iykyk) which can be the most confusing to identify as 8th Vein, in my opinion. Largely due to the even more vast variation in physical appearance.
Moss threads & dendrites can easily be found in this translucent form of OJ.
It’s interesting to call this material 'Ocean Jasper' since by definition, jaspers are an opaque chalcedony/microcrystalline quartz and this material is definitely translucent in nature and light is able to pass through to some degree.
Then what does that make Translucent/Jelly 8th Vein? (insert thinking emoji).
We will touch on that again in another blog…
Colours: A striking variation of vibrant peach to orange and blue-white orbs set against a predominately opaque green chalcedony with the occasional reds. Quartz & druze is featured in the higher-grade material which is highly desired by 8th Vein enthusiasts.
High quality 8th Vein Ocean Jasper featuring dendritic inclusions and red colouration against white orbs. Image credit: Priestess Crystals.
Examples of Jelly/Translucent Ocean Jasper which is considered to be 1st Grade material. Image credit: Priestess Crystals
Jelly OJ is definitely one of my favourite iterations of 8th Vein. The colour variation in this form is super crazy too. I’ve seen lovely yellows, denim blues, reds, browns, greens - it really is a heaven for those of us that love variety.
What is the difference between 6th Vein & 8th Vein Ocean Jasper? How can we tell them apart?
Now the telltale question: Why is 6th Vein Ocean Jasper often labelled as 8th Vein Ocean Jasper?
Answer below from an Instagram post I found. Can you tell the difference?
This image is a perfect representation for why 6th Vein OJ is confused for the 8th. Notice the blue coloured orbs and druzy pockets that collectors look for in 8th Vein material. Compared with the genuine 8th Vein beneath which has the iconic blue eye pattern, it's easy to see why the confusion erupts.
A major distinction between blue 6th Vein material and 8th Vein is found in the colour & patterns. 8th Vein Ocean Jasper very distinct orbicular patterns that are not jelly/translucent in appearance as we see in the 6th Vein material. Deep forest green that demarcates the blue orbs in 8th Vein is another sign that it's the real deal.
This begs the question: Where should I buy Ocean Jasper from?
Purchasing from a verified seller that knows where the material came from & is confident in identifying Ocean Jasper varieties can help you eliminate the confusion. Confusion enters the equation when you purchase from unverified overseas sellers who label anything as ocean jasper - because they truly don't know themselves.
If you wish to purchase from an unverified seller, I will leave you with this final word of warning: I have seen a number of mislabelled 'ocean jasper' specimens that are not genuine OJ with price tags in the high hundreds and thousands. Also don't be tempted to buy a piece of OJ just because it is cheap - it's cheap for a reason. Especially if you are new to collecting + don't know the difference between genuine & mislabelled OJ.
Our Ocean Jasper at Priestess Crystals has been purchased direct from the mines in Madagascar as well as verified vendors of OJ.
Now you know a little bit more about 6th, 7th & 8th Vein Ocean Jasper...
As I stated at the beginning, this serves as a resource and starting point for those interested in identifying ocean jasper to include in their own collections. This is the first of many blog posts on the topic of Ocean Jasper, its origins & the future of this stone.
I hope this serves you in your OJ loving journey, demystify how to identify veins 6-8, and helps you to make informed decisions when buying Ocean Jasper for your own collection.
Until we meet next time,
Alisha xx
Contribute your thoughts to the discussion below in our comments section. We would love to hear your perspective & appreciation for this material.
If you wish to add some genuine Ocean Jasper to your own collection, view the Priestess Crystals Ocean Jasper collection here: https://priestesscrystals.com/search?options%5Bprefix%5D=last&page=3&q=ocean+jasper