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Precious Stones Gemstones Jewelery
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Precious Stones
Have always been envied, treasured, collected or displayed by people for almost as long as man (& woman) has existed. I’m writing my own ‘lay persons’ view of what we need to understand and consider when looking at jewels, gems, collectables etc.
Most people would consider the diamond as perhaps the most popular or sought after ‘precious stone’ but we need to look a little further at some of the definitions surrounding and associated with precious stones.
Precious stone. The simplest definition I have seen for a precious stone “is a highly attractive and valuable piece of mineral, used in jewellery” [jewellery – the English spelling]. There are generally regarded to be 4 precious stone and these are diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies.
Semi precious stone are considered “less valuable” than precious stones but otherwise technically the same type of item.
Gem or gem-stones. Is usually defined as a precious or semi-precious stone which has probably been cut and polished. Gems however are classified in a several ways and by way of example Ruby and Sapphire are - in simple terms – different colours of the same base material.
Real or Synthetic. We also have to consider real or synthetic products – both of which have their own place and value. Synthetic diamonds have been manufactured for years for industrial purposes – for example – diamond tipped drills and cutting devices. Many people will have heard of Zircon (or Zirconium Silicate – its technical name and not to be confused with Cubic zirconia) – this sis still a mineral but is used to form synthetic diamonds.
Well I guess you can see how complex this topic is already appearing.
Identification of Gemstones, Characteristics and classification.
There are many concepts to understand if you wish to know all you can about a gemstone.
The are several ‘parts’ to a ‘description’ which clearly affect the desirability and value of a gemstone. Trying to keep the language simple:-
• A gemstone will be described by a gemmologist – someone who initially trained in mineralogy and subsequently specialised in the field of gemstones. Some jewellers may be qualified gemmologists and hence able to provide a technically accurate assessment of a gemstone
• The gemmologist will be able to assess a gemstone and provide a comprehensive specification of the item. Details of the specification may include the chemical makeup, the type of crystal system (if the gem is a crystal) and the ‘habit’ of the gem. The habit is again another term used to help identify the key characteristics of the gem. For example a gemstone mined in one part of the world may differ from one mined elsewhere and hence its habit would be different or conversely by describing the habit of a gemstone would help a gemmologist help determine the original source of the gemstone. There are many clearly defined habits – most with technical type names. A simple example of a habit is ‘bladed’ meaning slender and flattened i.e. blade-like.
• A gemstone would be ‘classified’. Classification refers to a group, species and variety of gemstone. You may – for example have a blue variety (sapphire) or a red variety (ruby) of the same species. The sapphire and the ruby are both a form of crystalline aluminium oxide named corundum. The diamond is another species and is a form of carbon.
• Other terms are used to help describe a gemstone – example the hardness of stone. The hardness of a mineral is normally defined by “The Mohs scale of mineral hardness” which is a relative scale – i.e. one mineral is 2 times harder than another mineral. Other characteristics are the ability to absorb or pass light through the stone
• A certification of gemstone can be obtained through a gemmology laboratory
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See Peter
Williams @ The Article Sense
and also My Hampshire Blog
& Information Guide
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