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Fine Jewelry University Articles matching: “quartz”
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Gem in the Spotlight: Quartz
…well known but surprising? What is affordably priced sometimes and sometimes unattainably expensive? If you answered quartz to all these questions you would be right (but naturally you looked at the title and knew). Quartz is one of the … earth. Many quartz varieties are cut into gemstones, but some varieties are very rare. Some are ordinary like rock quartz, others are exotic like Drusy Quartz. Some quartz material is a dollar per pound while others are $1,000+ per carat. …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Amethyst
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 …
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Synthetic Gems: The Whole Story
… 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 …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Jade
… had already been a tradition for thousands of years. At that time, gem carvers worked primarily with nephrite, quartz, lapis lazuli, and wood. With the introduction of jadeite, the carvers switched focus from the previous materials to this…and Synthetics Jade Jade has been replicated and imitated over the years. The most common imitations by far are dyed quartz, glass, and plastic. These imitations can be identified quickly by a trained gemologist. Other stones that have been…
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The Birthstones
…. Learn more about Garnet and Tasvorite Garnet February’s Birthstone: Amethyst Amethyst, transparent purple quartz, is the most important quartz variety used in jewelry. Purple has long been considered a royal color so it is not surprising …. According to legend, this golden stone possesses the power to cure many diseases. Citrine, a transparent yellow quartz gem many of the best of which come from Brazil, is a current day birthstone for this month. Learn more about Topaz and …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Iolite
…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…
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Gem in the Spotlight: Aquamarine
…. Aquamarine has a refractive index of 1.577 to 1.583 and is doubly refractive. Aquamarine’s specific gravity is 2.72 and it has a Mohs hardness of 7.5-8.0. For comparison, this means that it is softer than Sapphire, harder than Quartz, and similar to Topaz. This makes it a very durable stone that is suitable for regular wear. But, care should still be taken to ensure that the stone is not damaged. Caring For and Cleaning Aquamarine To maintain the brilliance of this …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Topaz
…is a standardized metric of how difficult it is to scratch something. For reference, topaz is a bit softer than diamond which is a 10 and corundum (sapphire/ruby) which is a 9 on the scale. It is a bit harder than emerald at 7.5-8 and quartz which comes in at 7. Here are some more gemological stats for reference: Refractive index: 1.619 to 1.627 Birefringence: 0.008 to 0.010 Specific gravity: 3.53 Mohs Hardness: 8 Care and Cleaning Even though it’s tough to scratch, you …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Spinel
… like us. Spinel can be stored with other jewelry but like with all precious stones, it should be treated and stored with care. Its Mohs hardness of 8 puts it on par with Topaz. It’s softer than diamond or sapphire but harder than quartz, tourmaline, and peridot. With proper care there’s no reason why a piece of spinel jewelry can’t last for generations even becoming a treasured family heirloom. Why Spinel? Despite its long history spinel is relatively new to jewelry in …
