Gemstones
Gemstones are produced from minerals or rocks. They may also be called semi-precious or precious stones depending on their market value - some have no value and others can be worth a lot of money.
Here a section of the mineral is cut and undergoes a special polishing process to produce the gemstone. Some gemstones such as amber, jet (which come from organic materials) and lapis lazuli (which comes from rocks) are not mineral based. And, pearls, which many consider to be gemstones, do not fall within the standard category either. Most gemstones are hard although some come from softer materials.
Gemstones are used for all kinds of purposes. These include:
- Collections - some people (both adults and children) will collect gemstones. They may collect generally or may concentrate on one or more specific types of gem.
- Jewellery - many gemstones (of all kinds of value) are used in jewellery making.
- Commercial applications - some gemstones are used for commercial/manufacturing applications due to a specific quality that they have. Diamonds, for example, are often used as they are extremely hard and give a special cutting edge.
Popular types of gemstones include:
- Diamond
- Sapphire
- Ruby
- Emerald
- Opal
- Amethyst
- Aquamarine
- Beryl
- Moonstone
- Quartz
- Garnet
- Zircon
Some gemstones are more valuable than others (i.e. diamonds and other precious stones such as rubies and emeralds). The value of a gemstone is measured in its colour, rarity, size, clarity, cut. Collectors of gemstones may also add extra value to little known gemstones that are either rarely seen or that rarely come in good quality stones. For example, these include axinite, cassiterite and bixbite.