We see many attractive gemstone jewelry pieces, made by many jewellery designers – famous to hobbyist. Many of these folks are extraordinarily creative artists in their design, but a lot of them know small, or nothing, about the materials they’re working with, and this can cause tragedies. This series will try to help know about the gems and materials you are using and their peculiarities. Let’s begin with the fundamentals. What’s a’PRECIOUS’ and a’SEMI-PRECIOUS’ GEM? They’re minerals and rocks that that folks consider special, gorgeous and valuable. In fact there is not any explicit definition, but a definition must include : the special ness and wonder of the stone. This comprises the colours, shine, optical effects, shapes, physical effects, toughness, and rarity of the stone. During the past,’Precious Gem’ referred only to : Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds ( and, Alexandrites and Pearls ), but now the term includes most gems. In this’PC’ world,’Semi-Precious Gem’ has fallen out of use as it is demeaning, and with the advent of many unknown ( i.e. Tanzanite ) and previously new gems ( i.e. The Colours of Sapphire ) the separation no longer applies what’s a’MINERAL’? It’s a natural inorganic solid represent of the earth’s crust.
Most minerals have their own chemical formula, molecule, and crystal forms.
Examples are : Diamond, Sapphires, Peridot, Quartz ( includes, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, and Opal ), Garnet, Tourmaline, and so on. What’s a’ROCK’? A rock is a natural total of different or the same minerals. When you look at a rock, you’ll usually see some of the different components of it’s make up.
What’s an’IMITATION’? Anything made to resemble an artificial or natural gem. Examples include : Glass, Austrian Crystal ( leaded glass ), CZ, Enamel, Plastics, Dyed Howlite and Marble,’Paste’, Chinese Glass gems ( Strawberry Quartz, Pineapple Quartz, and so on. ) and so on. What’s a’SYNTHETIC’? They’re crystallized man made products whose chemical and physical properties are, for the main part, matching to their natural opposite numbers.
Examples : Gold stone ( glass & copper ).