Have you ever wondered about gemstones? What are they and what qualifies them to be called a gemstone? Where do they come from and how do you know which is which? Which are the most expensive and why? Here’s a bit about them to fill in some of the gaps.
Gemstones – which are also called jewels, precious or semi-precious stones – is a piece of attractive mineral, which—when cut and polished—is used to make jewelry or other beautiful items. In addition to minerals, there are certain rocks and organic materials which are not minerals, but are still used for jewelry. These are also considered to be gemstones as well. So, the term gemstone is more of a role than a strict physical definition. Rarity is another quality of a gemstone. One usually doesn’t use the material for jewelry unless it is considered somewhat special.
Of the different types of stones, there are two main classifications: precious and semi-precious. The precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. All other gemstones are considered to be semi-precious. This distinction is unscientific and reflects the rarity of the respective stones in ancient times, as well as their quality: all are translucent with fine color in their purest forms, except for the colorless diamond, and very hard, with hardnesses of 8-10 on the Mohs scale. The other stones are classified by their color, translucency and hardness. This classification is not always perfect, because while garnets are relatively inexpensive, a green garnet called Tsavorite, can be far more valuable than a mid-quality emerald. Although this convention of calling a stone precious or semi-precious is imperfect, it serves today as a general term.
Another way to classify a gemstone is by its chemical composition. Diamonds are made of carbon and rubies of aluminium oxide. Next, many gems are crystals which are classified by their crystal system such as cubic or trigonal or monoclinic. Another term used is habit, the form the gem is usually found in. For example diamonds, which have a cubic crystal system, are often found as octahedrons. Gemstones are also classified into different groups, species, and varieties. For example, ruby is the red variety of the species corundum, while any other color of corundum is considered sapphire. Emerald (green), aquamarine (blue), bixbite (red), goshenite (colorless), heliodor (yellow), and morganite (pink) are all varieties of the mineral species beryl.
Gemstones may also be classified in terms of their ‘water’. This is a recognized grading of the gem’s luster and/or transparency and/or ‘brilliance’. Very transparent gems are considered ‘first water’, while ‘second’ or ‘third water’ gems are those of a lesser transparency. Despite what many people say, there are no universally accepted grading systems for any gemstone other than white (colorless) diamond. Diamonds are graded using a system developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in the early 1950s. Historically all gemstones were graded using the naked eye. The GIA system included a major innovation, the introduction of 10x magnification as the standard for grading clarity. Other gemstones are still graded using the naked eye.
The ‘four C’s’ (color, cut, clarity and carat), has been introduced to help the consumer understand the factors used to grade a diamond. With modification, these categories can be useful in understanding the grading of all gemstones. The four criteria carry different weight depending upon whether they are applied to colored gemstones or to colorless diamonds. In diamonds, cut is the primary determinant of value followed by clarity and color. Diamonds are meant to sparkle, to break down light into its constituent rainbow colors, chop it up into bright little pieces, and deliver it to the eye. In its rough crystalline form, a diamond will do none of these things, it requires proper fashioning and this is called ‘cut’. In gemstones that have color, including colored diamonds, it is the purity and beauty of that color that is the primary determinant of quality.
Although we’ve looked at many ways to judge gemstones, the final judging is to be done by you. Which colors do you like the best? Which stones seem to look magnificent to you and which ones seem just average? Regardless of what friends or experts may say, the stone you will like best is the one that you value and treasure. The one you like to look at the most. Let this be your guide, along with a little education, and you’ll be sure to end up with gemstones that are a pleasure to behold for the rest of your days.
Have you heard of Swarovski? In 1895, Daniel Swarovski started Swarovski Crystals, a company that makes a range of precisely-cut crystal glass and related luxury products. They make figurines, jewelry and fashion clothing, home decor, chandeliers, and loose crystal elements. Their headquarters are in Wattens, Austria. This is near the beautiful town of Innsbruck. The company has quite a bit since 1895 and now they have over 24,000 employees in all branches.
