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Luminous gemstones. Folktales about luminous gemstones are an almost worldwide motif in mythology and history among Asian, European, African, and American cultures. Some stories about light-emitting gems may have been based on luminescent and phosphorescent minerals such as diamonds.
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος amethystos from α- a-, "not" and μεθύσκω ( Ancient Greek) methysko / μεθώ metho ( Modern Greek ), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. [1] Ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved ...
Present, dichroism or trichroism, depending on heat treatment. Tanzanite is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite (a calcium aluminium hydroxyl sorosilicate ), caused by small amounts of vanadium. [3] Tanzanite belongs to the epidote mineral group. Tanzanite is only found in Simanjiro District of Manyara Region in Tanzania, in a ...
The classification of the cardinal gems dates back to antiquity, and was largely determined by ceremonial or religious use and rarity. The term has largely fallen out of use. The five traditional cardinal gems are: amethyst (purple) – Rare and precious in the Old World until large deposits were found in Brazil. diamond (transparent) emerald ...
Cubic zirconia (abbreviated CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO 2 ). The synthesized material is hard and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. It should not be confused with zircon, which is a zirconium silicate (ZrSiO 4 ). It is sometimes erroneously called cubic zirconium .
Topaz is a gemstone. In cut and polished form, it is used to make jewelry or other adornments. Lower quality topaz is commonly used as an abrasive material due to its hardness and it is used to produce refractory materials for high temperature environments. [7] Topaz can be used as a flux in steel production. [23]
Chrysoberyl. The mineral or gemstone chrysoberyl is an aluminate of beryllium with the formula Be Al 2 O 4. [5] [6] The name chrysoberyl is derived from the Greek words χρυσός chrysos and βήρυλλος beryllos, meaning "a gold-white spar". Despite the similarity of their names, chrysoberyl and beryl are two completely different ...
Sugilite. Sugilite ( / ˈsuːɡəlaɪt, - dʒi -/ SOO-gə-lyte, -jee-) [2] [3] is a relatively rare pink to purple cyclosilicate mineral with the complex chemical formula K Na 2 ( Fe, Mn, Al) 2 Li 3 Si 12 O 30. Sugilite crystallizes in the hexagonal system with prismatic crystals. The crystals are rarely found and the form is usually massive.