Precious stones are minerals of intense brightness, very hard and rare. You can also call them gems. As you see they must fulfill 4 characteristics so that it can be considered a precious stone.
- Minerals: all solids of inorganic origin are minerals, which are Natural Sapphire and have a certain chemical formula (fixed). If you meet these 3 conditions we will say that it is a mineral.
- Of intense brightness: they shine.
- Very hard: it means that they do not scratch easily. The hardest mineral is the diamond.
- Uncommon: Those are not abundantly found in nature. That is, they are difficult to find.
Precious stones or gems are used as decorative elements or jewelry for about 7,000 years. Eye do not Confuse with Precious Metals.
The diamond, emerald, Black Sapphire and ruby are the only minerals that are considered precious stones.
They are minerals of great beauty, hard and very scarce. The precious stones have hardness between 8 and 10, according to the scale of hardness of Mohs; the semiprecious ones are below this hardness.
Semi precious stones
Some other minerals such as topaz, Zircon Gemstone or garnets are considered semiprecious stones because they are much easier to obtain. They fulfill the same characteristics as the precious ones, unless they are infrequent. For example, the Amethyst ceased to be considered a precious stone when large deposits of this mineral were discovered in Brazil. There are approximately 130 mineral species cataloged as semiprecious, in addition to amber, which is a fossilized vegetable resin. Here you have the image of some of them:
- Logically the semiprecious stones have a much lower economic value than the precious ones.
- Precious and semiprecious stones are usually carved and polished to enhance their shine.
- Polish is smooth your surface so it is smooth and shiny.
- Carving is shaping it.
How are precious stones formed?
- Volcanic stones: they are coming from eruptions and sources of magma or molten lava Coming from the mantle and coming out of the volcanoes. Examples of these rocks are basalt, granite and amethyst and Birthstones for Each Month.
- Metamorphic stones: They occur when volcanic, sedimentary or other metamorphic rocks for reasons of extreme heat or extreme pressure undergo extreme changes over time. Some examples are garnet, zirconite, turquoise and corundum.
- Sedimentary stones: that comes from the deposition of sediments, such as sand. Examples are malachite, opal and zircon.
Types of Precious Stones
- Natural gems, fine or true.
- Synthetic gems: laboratory.
- Artificial gems: its composition and structure varies from the natural (Pink Star Sapphire, fabulite).
- Composite gems: they are made by joining pieces of other gems.
- Reconstituted gems : heat and pressure (amber, tortoiseshell)
- Imitation gems : Rough Gemstones for Sale
- Glass
- Natural pearls: they are generated by mollusks (calcium and conchiolin). At the same time the pearls can be:
- Oriental : painted oysters and mother
- pearl - Cultivated : raised in fish farms
- Imitation: glass with varnish.