What Are Natural Gemstones?

Gemstones are rare minerals, rock or organic material that can be found all over the world in different types of environments. Many gemstones are cut into shapes, which then become gems. This is why most jewelry contains gems, which have a finished and polished look. Gemstone properties can be determined by hardness, specific gravity and color, although the same gemstone can come in several different colors. Because gemstones are rare and valuable, fakes are a common way to trick buyers.

Occurrence

Gemstones can occur in geological environments underground or can be synthetically crafted in laboratories. Diamonds for example, are found with the ore kimberlite. Other stones like beryl and tourmaline are found in streams because of erosion. When creating synthetic gemstones, scientists try to mimic the conditions where the gemstones naturally occur. In crafting rubies, for example, a rod with a crystal seed is dipped in melted minerals. Repeating this process creates a large ruby that can be taken off and then cut.

Types

There are different ways to categorize gemstones, by natural or artificially created, inorganic or organic, or by how precious the gem is. Precious and semiprecious use beauty, rarity and hardness to determine which gems belong to which group. Precious gemstones include diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and topazes. Semiprecious gemstones include jade, opal and turquoise.

Organic Gemstones

Organic gemstones are gemstones created through a biological process. These are considered gemstones because of their rarity and beauty. Pearls, for example, occur rarely in oysters and mussels in both salt and freshwater. They can be different shapes, including eggs, spheres and teardrop, and can be white, cream, black, blue, red and other colors. Amber is a gemstone made from fossilized tree sap.

Uses

Most gemstones are cut into gems and are then sold as accessories in jewelry. Rings, necklaces, bracelets and amulets may contain fittings for cut gemstones that are placed within the jewelry. Gemstones can also be left uncut, usually by collectors. Other gemstones have useful purposes like the diamonds used in saws and drills. Because diamonds are very hard, diamond-tipped tools can be used to cut blocks of marble or limestone or to bore deep into the ground.

Fakes

Fake gemstones are often sold cheaply by shady dealers. When purchasing gemstones, the price is dependant on the size of the gem, its cut, its color and clarity, and how it's been treated. Fake gemstones may be other minerals that are dyed or irradiated to look like real gemstones. Irradiation is used to bring out color and minimize imperfections. Sometimes colored glass is polished to look like gems as well.

References

• US Geological Survey
• Globio
• Gemstone Information