Gemstones
added by:Mark Plante - Plante Graffix
Gemstones are among man’s most treasured objects. The histories of certain individual gemstones can be traced over a span of centuries. Gems are associated with wealth, prestige, status and power just as gold and silver.
In the earliest periods of civilization, people became curious about natural objects, including minerals. Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic chemical elements and compounds.
Early humans discovered pebbles and fragments of various brightly colored minerals in fields and streambeds, on mountain slopes, and in barren deserts. Some of these were made into ornaments. Others were ascribed mystical powers or symbolic religious significance. For centuries, gem materials held a position of tremendous influence in human affairs. The primary attribute of any gemstone was color, yet no reliable way existed for differentiating minerals of the same or similar colors. It is not surprising that confusion reigned in both literature and in the marketplace. There are literally hundreds of references to gemstones in the Bible. Yet in many cases, it is not known today exactly which stones were being described.
Modern gemology is a relatively new science.
A large part of the value of a fine gem lies in its scarcity as a rare, natural object. The overall answer as to how gems are valued is complex. Worldwide affluence has created an unprecedented demand for gems of fine quality, greatly increasing their price. Political problems in gem producing areas have created restrictions in the supply of gem materials, further raising prices.
WHAT IS A GEM?
In antiquity, the so-called precious stones were diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, and occasionally, opals.
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (7th Ed., 1967) defines “precious"as “of great value” or “high price.“ “Semiprecious” is defined as meaning “of less commercial value than precious”!
This clearly indicates that “precious” is a marketing term, applying to any expensive item. It is worth noting that a diamond can be purchased for as little as $200 per carat, yet certain colors of garnet are currently selling at prices over $1,000 per carat. Garnet has always been regarded as semiprecious, so it is obvious that these terms, as applied to gems, have little relevance or meaning. Therefore, aside from considerations of historical usage, the terms “precious” and “semiprecious” should be completely abandoned.
order to be considered a gem, a mineral must have beauty, durability, and scarcity, according to most authorities.
Definition
A gem is any mineral, cut and polished for ornamental purposes.
There are more than three thousand known minerals. Any of them could be used as a gem.
At A JOUR, I use common and not so common varieties of gemstones in my jewelry. I also offer the possibility of choosing between different stones for the same piece of jewelry. This allows you to adjust your favorite stone to your own personal style. I offer beautiful gems for very reasonable prices.
What is important in gems?
The color should be true. For example, a red ruby should be red—a clear red, not some milky or dull red. A naturally translucent stone should be translucent. Inclusions should be small. Natural stones do have inclusions, but it is important to make sure the stone does not lose all of it’s beauty because of dull clouds. Cracks should be very, very small, or non-existent. A cracked stone can split open under the smallest physical pressure.