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Gem in the Spotlight: Quartz

FJU Category: Gemstones | Tags: Amethyst, Citrine, Gem Spotlight, Gemology, Onyx, Prasiolite, Quartz

…November babies and Citrine. You may be less familiar with some of the other single crystal varieties of quartz like Rose Quartz, Morion, and Rutilated Quartz. These less common gems can be stunningly beautiful and intricate. You can also see …orange to brown, greenish yellow Prasiolite Green (often mistakenly referred to as Green Amethyst) Rock Quartz Clear Rose Quartz Various shades of pink, typically has a smooth, milky or hazy appearance Smoky Quartz Transparent brown Morion Dark-…

Gem in the Spotlight: Amethyst

FJU Category: Gemstones | Tags: Amethyst, Folklore, Gem Spotlight, Gemology, Jewelry History

Amethyst is known for its beautiful purple color, and it is the most important quartz variety used in jewelry. Purple has long been considered a royal color, so it is not surprising that amethyst has … which means that it can withstand daily wear and tear. Amethyst has the same refractive index as other varieties of quartz at 1.54-1.55 and is doubly refractive. It has a vitreous polish luster and its specific gravity is 2.66. Its …tribute to the goddess Diana. In order to protect Amethyst, Diana turned her into a statue made of pure, crystalline quartz. Dionysus, upon seeing the stunning statue, wept tears of wine in remorse for his actions. These tears stained the …

FJU Category: Gemstones | Tags: Gemology, Moissanite, Synthetic Gemstones

… made silicon carbide. In gemology, any material used to look like a gem is called a simulant. So clear glass, rock quartz, GGG, and Moissanite are all diamond simulants. They look like diamonds, but they are not diamonds. These simulants … millions of dollars worth of equipment and world class personnel. Synthetic diamonds on the high end and synthetic quartz on the low end are both very difficult to positively identify as synthetic. Both, I feel, are impossible to identify …

The History of Diamond Cuts

FJU Category: Diamonds | Tags: Diamond Information, Gemology, Jewelry History, Old European Diamond

… the brilliance within the diamond, and variations of it are still used today. Another early diamond cut is the rose cut or rosette cut. The rose cut looks like half a diamond to modern eyes. It has anywhere from 3 to 24 facets coming to …a pavilion. Interesting fact #2: Some diamond cuts do not have a standard number of facets. As we have just seen the rose cut has many variations. A 3 facet rose cut looks a lot different than a 24 facet rose cut. Some cuts can vary by …

Gem in the Spotlight: Tanzanite

FJU Category: Gemstones | Tags: Gem Spotlight, Gemology, Tanzanite, Zoisite

… effects while they were still underground. Without heating, most tanzanite would be a brown color, similar to smoky quartz. The very small percentage of tanzanite that isn’t heated and is still pretty enough for jewelry displays trichroism… of tanzanite comes from its color. Tanzanite has a Moh’s hardness of 6-7, making it about the same hardness as quartz, softer than ruby, sapphire and emerald and hard than opal. Tanzanite has a refractive index of 1.69-1.70. History and …

Gem in the Spotlight: Iolite

FJU Category: Gemstones | Tags: Colored Gemstones, Folklore, Gem Spotlight, Gemology, Iolite, Jewelry History

…iolite cannot be heat treated to enhance its color. The color you see is the natural color of the stone when it was first discovered. Coming in at 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, iolite is a somewhat soft gem. It is comparable to quartz (Amethyst, Citrine, etc), a little harder than Opal, and softer than Emerald or Topaz. Because of this, some extra care should be taken with your iolite jewelry. Try to avoid wearing it in situations where it might be hit against hard…