Chrysolite

Chrys'olite (χρυσόλιθος, golden stone), the precious stone which garnished the seventh foundation of the New Jerusalem in John's vision (Re 21:20); according to Schleusner, a gem of golden hue, or, rather, of yellow streaked with green and white (see Pliny 37:9, 42; Isidor. Orig. 16:14). It was called by some chrysophyllum (χρυσόφυλλον, Epiphan. De geminis, 10). It was a name applied by the ancients to all gems of a golden or yellow color, but it probably designated particularly the topaz of the moderns (see, however, Bellermann, Urim et Thummim, p. 62). In the Sept. the word is employed for תִּרשַׁישׁ, tarshish', the "beryl" of our version (Ex 28:20; Eze 10:9). SEE BERYL; SEE TOPAZ.

What is usually termed chrysolite is a crystalline precious stone of the quartz kind, of a glossy fracture. In chemical composition it is a ferriferous silicate of magnesia. The prevailing color is yellowish-green, and pistachio-green of every variety and degree of shade, but always with a yellow and gold luster. There are two particular species of chrysolite: one, called the Oriental chrysolite, of a pistachio-green, transparent, and, when held up to the light in certain positions, often with a cherry-red shade; the other is the granulous chrysolite, of different shades of yellowish-green color, half transparent and nearly pellucid (see the Penny Cyclopedia, s.v.). SEE GEM.