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Semi! Precious Stones

Discussion in 'Jewelry & Accessories' started by padmininatarajan, Feb 9, 2008.

  1. padmininatarajan

    padmininatarajan New IL'ite

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    Basically, women love rocks and stones—not the ones to climb or the ones that hide creepy crawlies or even the ones surreptitiously added in grains to augment the weight. They also love talking about them and have an interesting anecdote about their favourite mineral or crystal that makes their jewel even more special.

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    There have been times when a woman would rationalise her indulgence in buying a stone saying with insouciance, “Oh that’s only a semi-precious stone.” This indicated that the stones were not expensive or worthy of being venerated like the icy diamond or the fiery ruby. Well there is news for you! No stone can be called semi-precious—lets leave alone the debate about the correct pronunciation of the word semi and whether it rhymes with ‘my’ or with ‘tree’. Thus speaks the Gemological Institute saying with a flick of a chisel—obsolete terminology. Stones can be of poor quality, can be more easily quarried for commercial purposes or could be easily available due to a glut in the market, but no, no to ‘semi-precious stone’ terminology.
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    Setting apart the four big guns—diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphires—others are nowadays called ‘natural fine gemstones’.

    So take care to use the correct terminology when you drop your ring at convivial dinners—“Ooh la la! My natural gemstone has fallen into the green pea soup”; or flash a bracelet at the traffic policeman pleading for clemency after beating a red light saying, ”My natural gemstone flashed the wrong signal”.
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    An introduction to natural fine gemstones:
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    Aquamarine: A member of the beryl family, like emeralds, Aquamarines are transparent blue or sea-green. It is coloured by trace amounts of iron that find their way into the crystal structure. Most gem aquamarines have been heat treated to produce the popular blue-green colours from less desirable yellow or pale stones. The name comes from a Latin phrase meaning "water of the sea." Aquamarine is found all over the world, including <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madagascar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
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    It is a popular gem although it does not command nearly as high a price as its green cousin. Uncut aquamarines are plentiful but relatively expensive like all crystalline gemstone specimens. Large crystals of aquamarine are available in the open market. It is thought to bring its wearers knowledge, foresight and inspiration.

    Beryl: The name of a family of stones composed of a silicate of aluminium and glucinium (beryllium), which includes aquamarine, emerald, and morganite. It is one of the most important gem minerals. Beryl is colourless in its pure form. The many different impurities give the beryl its varied coloration. Without these splendid colour varieties, beryl would be a rather ordinary gemstone with only average fire and brilliance. Emerald is the green variety and Aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl.
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    The name beryl is used for the red and golden varieties simply called red beryl and golden beryl, respectively. Other colours of beryl, also used as gemstones but not as well known are:
    The greenish-yellow variety is called Heliodor.
    The pink variety is called Morganite.
    The colourless variety is called Goshenite.
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    Emerald is highly prized and is one of the most valued gemstones. Its green colour is peerless and all other green gemstones are compared to its intensity. Emerald specimens are often "flawed" with mineral inclusions and fractures; unlike other gems, which are considered part of the stones' "character." These flaws actually help determine natural from synthetically-produced stones. Uncut emerald specimens are rare on the mineral markets, probably because even low-grade emeralds can carry a high price when cut as gems. Especially hard to find are true "in-matrix" specimens. Fakes are often produced with natural crystals glued into a "host" rock and then sold as an “in-matrix” specimen with a highly inflated price.
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    Moonstone: A transparent, slightly iridescent, milky white variety of feldspar (like silicon) with white or light blue opalescent spots. Moonstone is considered a good luck stone, especially for lovers.
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    Sapphire: One of the four precious gemstones along with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. Sapphire is a member of the corundum family, which come in a variety of colours from white to orange to green to pink. If a corundum gemstone is red, it is a ruby, but any other colour is properly referred to as sapphires. Sapphires have been synthesized since the 1920's. Ancient Persians believed the blueness of the sky was caused by the reflection from an enormous blue sapphire that the Earth rested on. Blue sapphire is the birthstone for September.
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    This gemstone exists in all the shades of blue, from the deep blue of evening skies to the bright and deep blue of a clear summer sky. It also comes in many other colours, like the transparent greyish misty blue of far horizons, and the bright fireworks of sunset colours like yellow, pink, orange and purple.
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    Tourmaline: A complex crystalline silicate occurring usually in three-sided or six-sided prisms terminated by rhombohedral planes containing aluminium, boron, and other elements. Black tourmaline (schorl) is the most common variety. Other varieties include the blue (indicolite), red (rubellite), green, brown, and white. The red and green varieties when transparent are valued as gems. Tourmaline can be found in more colours than any other stone and heat can also be applied to tourmalines to lighten, or enhance, the existing hue of the gem.
     
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  2. Anandchitra

    Anandchitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Very nice and useful information on Semi Precious Stones..
     

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