Gemstones of The World

Gemstones of The World

Gemstones are minerals that had intrigued humans for at least 10,000 years. The first known, used for making jewelery, include amethyst, rock crystal, amber, garnet, jade, jasper, coral, lapis lazuli, serpentine, emerald, and turquoise.


Origin

Minerals can be formed in a various ways. Some crystallize from molten magma and gases of the earth's interior or from volcanic lava streams that reach the earth's surface (ingenous or magmatic minerals). Other cristallize from hydrous solutions or grow with the help of organisms on or near the earth's surface (sedimentary minerals). Lastly, new minerals are formed by recrystallization of existing minerals under gerat pressure and hign temperatures in the lower regions of the earth's crust (metamorphic minerals).


Facts

The hardest gemstone in the world : Diamond

Diamond is the hardest gemstone in the world in which the degree of scratch hardness (Mohs) is 10 Mohs. Diamond is not an element, it is a crystalline form. It is not the strongest material know. It is the hardest. Diamond cutters use copper wedges to "cut" diamonds. They are actually breaking the diamond along cleavage planes rather than cutting it. The copper wedge would not put a dent in soft steel, but because it deforms slightly around th diamond, it can apply the impulse from the diamond cutters mallet more uniformly along a line selected along the cleavage plane than could a steel wedge. Diamond might be the hardest gemstone in the world, but not for the hardest material. It lost its title to man-made nanomaterials some time ago. It is 58 percent more harder than a diamond.


Variation of Gemstones

Gemstones can be varied in many shapes, sizes, and colours. The diagram below shows some of the gemstones in the world.

Introduction to Gemstones