Gemstones

A gemstone (also called a gem, fine gem, jewel, precious stone or semi-precious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli) or organic materials that are not minerals (such as amber or jet) are also used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gems A gemstone (also called a gem, fine gem, jewel, precious stone or semi-precious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli) or organic materials that are not minerals (such as amber or jet) are also used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. Apart from jewelry, from earliest antiquity engraved gems and hardstone carvings, such as cups, were major luxury art forms. A gem maker is called a lapidary or gemcutter; a diamond worker is a diamantaire.

The traditional classification in the West, which goes back to the ancient Greeks, begins with a distinction between precious and semi-precious; similar distinctions are made in other cultures. In modern usage the precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. This distinction 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 to 10 on the Mohs scale. Other stones are classified by their color, translucency and hardness. The traditional distinction does not necessarily reflect modern values, for example, while garnets are relatively inexpensive, a green garnet called tsavorite can be far more valuable than a mid-quality emerald. Another unscientific term for semi-precious gemstones used in art history and archaeology is hardstone. Use of the terms 'precious' and 'semi-precious' in a commercial context is, arguably, misleading in that it deceptively implies certain stones are intrinsically more valuable than others, which is not necessarily the case.

In modern times gemstones are identified by gemologists, who describe gems and their characteristics using technical terminology specific to the field of gemology. The first characteristic a gemologist uses to identify a gemstone is its chemical composition. For example, diamonds are made of carbon (C) and rubies of aluminium oxide (Al2O3). 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 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. Other examples are the Emerald (green), aquamarine (blue), red beryl (red), goshenite (colorless), heliodor (yellow), and morganite (pink), which are all varieties of the mineral species beryl.

Gems are characterized in terms of refractive index, dispersion, specific gravity, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and luster. They may exhibit pleochroism or double refraction. They may have luminescence and a distinctive absorption spectrum. Material or flaws within a stone may be present as inclusions.

Gemstones may also be classified in terms of their "water". This is a recognized grading of the gem's luster, transparency, or "brilliance". Very transparent gems are considered "first water", while "second" or "third water" gems are those of a lesser transparency. ...more

Gemstones Books

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)

More gemstones books...

Lists

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

All That Sparkles Romances—Hero or Heroine is a Jewelry Designer, Jewel Thief, Gemologist, or in a Story About Jewels

176 books — 32 voters

Diamonds on Novel Covers

18 books — 4 voters

The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon

A Little Bit of Crystals by Cassandra Eason

Crystals, Crystalline Structures on the Cover

99 books — 3 voters

Night Night, Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron

Pearls on the Cover

126 books — 17 voters

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Jewelry Box

750 books — 102 voters

From the Erzgebirge to Potosi by Sean Daly

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn

King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

Mining

151 books — 80 voters

Related Genres

Geology
Jewelry
Jewellery
Jewelry Making
Jewels

Minerals
Mineralogy
Lapidary
Jewellery Making
Petrology

Featured News & Interviews

New Voices Alert! 51 New & Upcoming Debut Novels

Read »

Quotes Tagged “Gemstones”

“ She could see why men and women through the ages had become besotted with opals. It was as though an almighty hand had scooped a palmful of emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and pearls and mixed their radiant hues. Fit for a queen. Such a noble stone. ”
― Tea Cooper, The Woman in the Green Dress

2 likes

“ He would often spend a whole day settling and resettling in their cases the various stones that he had collected, such as the olive-green chrysoberyl that turns red by lamplight, the cymophane with its wirelike line of silver, the pistachio-coloured peridot, rose-pink and wine-yellow topazes, carbuncles of fiery scarlet with tremulous, four-rayed stars, flame-red cinnamon-stones, orange and violet spinels, and amethysts with their alternate layers of ruby and sapphire. He loved the red gold of t ...more ”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

1 likes

More quotes...