Jasper is often linked to a Persian word for treasurer, by way of the name Caspar, while separately sharing its sound with the banded gemstone prized since antiquity. Both threads point toward something valuable held carefully -- a name suggesting safekeeping as much as worth.
He that goes about to destroy Art, is far worse than he that is unskilled in it, for his mind is full of malice and idleness as well as ignorance. - Cardan Girolamo (1501-1576)