The World of Gemstones

Gemstones fall under two categories – precious and semi-precious. Basically, a gemstone is nothing but a small fragment of a precious mineral (read gem) which is well polished so that it can be used in jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces, and rings. Most gemstones that you will come across today are rock hard, although there are a select few soft minerals used to make jewelry because of their sparkle and gloss.

Jewelry makers today predominantly recognize Ruby, Diamond, Amethyst, Emerald and Sapphire as the only precious gemstones. Semi-precious stones on the other hand include Alexandrite, Agate, Aquamarine, Topaz, Garnet, Opal, Turquoise, Coral, Jade, Zircon, and Catseye to mention but the common ones.

These gemstones are more than mere colored glittering stones. Many people believe that most gemstones have some therapeutic powers, psychic powers, and certain special effects capable of extenuating bad luck in life when worn as jewelry. Further, gems also play an important role in astrology in that each of the planets is well represented by a particular gemstone i.e. Sun – Ruby, Moon – Pearl, Mars – Coral, Mercury – Emerald, Venus- Diamond, Jupiter – Topaz, Saturn – Sapphire. Kethu and Rahu (the two nodes) are represented by Catseye and Zircon respectively.

There are some particular stones which generate evil effects hence should be avoided as much as possible. All precious stones that you wear should be pure, which you can make certain by visiting a qualified gemologist to distinguish pure stones from their impure counterparts. Be advised that there are some artificial stones which are ostensibly very attractive and glitter just like natural stones but will not produce any beneficial effects.

Some gemstones, although few, are directly used as gems in their original form such as crystal, while most others need to be cut and polished to be able to be used as gemstones. Facets are a term used to describe stones cut using a faceting machine at regular intervals and at precise angles. Generally, transparent gems are usually faceted. Cabochons on the other hand are stones cut smooth and dome shaped and will use opaque gems such as turquoise and opal.

One of the most attractive features of gemstones is color thanks to the aesthetic appeal they create. However, despite the fact that color is one of the main things that makes a stone become the most sought after, other factors such as rarity, stone popularity, and market supply will determine its price.

Be advised that the same original mineral can display a variety of colors. For instance, sapphire can be found in shades of pink, and blue and very fancy sapphires will display a whole new range of other attractive colors from orange-pink to yellow. Important to note however is that sapphire and ruby have the same chemical composition but exhibits different colors.

Gemstones will most often be treated to enhance their clarity and enrich their color. Depending on the type and extent of treatment done, they can significantly boost the patina of the stone. For instance, light and dark blue shades of Topaz can be treated by heat to change their color from white to blue. Green quartz on the other hand can be irradiated to get their characteristic yellow-green color.

Gemstones such as emeralds that contain natural fissures are at times filled with oil or wax to mask them. Turquoise is also treated the same way. The appearance of diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds can be dramatically improved through fracture filling.

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