Aquamarine: The Sea-Blue Beryl Complete Guide Aquamarine — the blue to blue-green variety of beryl — carries one of the most evocative names and images in the gemstone world. Named…
Peridot: The Gem of the Sun Complete Guide Peridot is one of the oldest known gemstones — mined on the Egyptian island of Zabargad (St. John's Island) in the Red…
What Makes a Mineral a Gemstone Walk into any jewellery store and the cases gleam with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds. But walk through a gravel riverbed in Sri Lanka,…
Crystal Structures in Gemstones Every gemstone begins as atoms. The way those atoms arrange themselves — bonding in precise repeating three-dimensional patterns — determines almost everything about a gem: its…
The Role of Trace Elements in Gem Color Pure corundum is colourless. Add a fraction of a percent of chromium, and it becomes one of the most intensely red materials…
Understanding Optical Phenomena in Gems Some gemstones do something beyond simply showing colour. A star sapphire glows with a six-rayed star that floats across its surface as it moves. A…
Gemstone Transparency and Light Behavior The moment light enters a gemstone, a cascade of interactions begins. Some light is reflected from the surface. Some enters the stone and is refracted…
How Treatments Affect Gemstone Value Understanding how gemstone treatments affect value is one of the highest-leverage skills in jewelry sales. The same mineral species can vary by an order of…
The Science of Crystal Growth A gemstone crystal does not appear fully formed in the earth. It grows — atom by atom, ion by ion — over timescales that can…
Emerald: The Complete Gemstone Guide Emerald is one of the most coveted gemstones in human history — prized by ancient Egyptians, favored by Cleopatra, worn by Mughal emperors, and today…