Gemstones: Semi Precious and Precious


What Are Precious and Semi Precious Gemstones?



When most people think of gemstones, they think of diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. They don't think of phenakite, moldavite, morganite, alexandrite, carnelian, cinnabar, or others.

Most people think of precious stones. And semi precious stones like amethyst and citrine come to mind also.  So what makes them precious or semi precious?

 Definition of a Gemstone

First, a gemstone or jewel is a mineral that is been cut and polished to sparkle and dazzle. All gemstones are not minerals though. Some are organic like amber and pearl. Today, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphire are considered precious stones and the rest are semi precious. Why? I have no clue. It's just the way modern society has it and they got their ideas from the Ancient Greeks. Read more here.

But gemstones such as Tsavorite, a form of green garnet, can cost more than an emerald. Why? Because some semi precious stones are rare.

Gemstone Groups

Gems are also classified into groups or families. Ruby is the red color of corundum while all other colors are considered sapphire. And yes, there is a white variety of sapphire which is kinda rare, (but I can get some!)

Beryl is the mineral that emerald, aquamarine, goshenite, heliodor and morganite all come from.

Amethyst, citrine, ametrine, prasiolite, onyx, chalcedony, agate and jasper are all types of quartz. Prasiolite is green amethyst and rare. Ametrine is a mix of amethyst and citrine. And Jasper has a lot of different colors and varieties.

And there are a lot more of gemstone groups.

Why I Got Into Gemstones and Jewelry Making

Regardless of what some may consider precious or not, to me, all are precious. I love the variety and colors and that's why I collect. As for jewelry making, I've been doing that since I was about four years old stringing beads together and going door to door selling them for a quarter so I could have lunch money for school. I've just upgraded from beads to gems and minerals.

Honestly, it was Daryl who taught me to wire wrap and introduced me to crystals, which is another word for gemstones and minerals.

What are your thoughts on precious and semi precious stones?

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 28, 2015 at 3:06 AM

    Gemstones are really fascinating. They are so pretty with colorful hues but they also have such interesting origin, astrological importance and numerous benefits. Healing powers, inner peace and wisdom are just few traits. Mostly I am fascinated by sapphires because its my birthstone. I read in this article that they holds incredible transformative energy that works wonders for the wearer. http://goo.gl/3Hqzac Its all so very interesting!

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