| Gemstones are described by gemologists using | | | | emeralds are found. The magnificent green of the |
| technical specifications. Gems have refractive | | | | emerald is a colour, which conveys harmony and |
| index, dispersion, specific gravity, hardness, | | | | love of nature. The value of an emerald depends |
| cleavage, fracture, and lustre. Some minerals that | | | | on cut, color, clarity, and carat. The colours do not |
| are too soft to be generally applied in jewelry | | | | occur until traces of some other element are |
| may still be considered a gemstone because of | | | | added. |
| their remarkable color, lustre or other physical | | | | A Ruby is a red variety of the gemstone |
| properties that have aesthetic value. Crystals and | | | | corundum, the color caused mainly by chromium. |
| gemstones are a marvel of nature- in there | | | | A ruby appears red because it absorbs all the |
| perfect geometrical structures. Only five types of | | | | other colors of white light - blue, yellow, green, |
| gemstones were considered precious: diamond, | | | | etc. The fewer the number and the less obvious |
| ruby, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst. | | | | the imperfections, the more valuable the ruby is. |
| A gemstone, gem or precious /semi-precious | | | | Although pieces of red corundum can be found |
| stone is a highly attractive and valuable piece of | | | | weighing many kilograms, they are generally not |
| mineral, which when cut and polished is used in | | | | of sufficient quality to be valuable as gemstones. |
| jewelry or other adornments. Although the | | | | Sapphire is the non red variety of the mineral |
| different stones formally have the same chemical | | | | corundum, an aluminium oxide. Some natural |
| composition, they are not exactly the same. Color | | | | sapphires can be found as completely transparent, |
| is the most obvious and attractive feature of | | | | or "white. Sapphire includes any gemstone quality |
| gemstones. | | | | varieties of the mineral corundum except the fully |
| A diamond is a transparent crystal of | | | | saturated red variety, which is instead known as |
| tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms and crystallizes | | | | ruby. The value of a star sapphire depends not |
| into the face centered cubic diamond lattice | | | | only on the carat weight of the stone but also |
| structure. Toughness relates to a material's ability | | | | the body color, visibility and intensity of the |
| to resist breakage from forceful impact. The | | | | asterism. Color changes may also be pink in |
| most familiar usage of diamonds today is as | | | | daylight to greenish under fluorescent light. |
| gemstones used for adornment. Television ads | | | | Australia leads the world in sapphire production. |
| portray them as the ultimate gift of love. | | | | No matter the gemstone they look best in |
| Magazine ads want us to believe that a diamond is | | | | jewellery, which uses gold as a base. Although the |
| the only perfect gift to express love. If you plan | | | | price of some platinum group metals can be much |
| on purchasing a diamond because you like how it | | | | higher, gold has long been considered the most |
| looks or if gives you or your love one pleasure | | | | desirable of precious metals, and its value has |
| then by all means buy it but also consider it as a | | | | been used as the standard for many currencies |
| form of investment. | | | | (known as the gold standard) in history. Blue gold |
| Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl, colored | | | | can be made by alloying with iron and purple gold |
| green by trace amounts of chromium and | | | | can be made by alloying with aluminium, although |
| sometimes vanadium. The name emerald comes | | | | rarely done except in specialized jewelry. |
| from the Greek 'smaragdos' via the Old French | | | | Alternative white gold alloys are available based on |
| 'esmeralde', and really just means 'green | | | | palladium, silver and other white metals (World |
| gemstone'. Colombia continues to be at the top of | | | | Gold Council), but the palladium alloys are more |
| the list in terms of the countries in which fine | | | | expensive than those using nickel. |