Chalcedony Species Part 4 Agate

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to the next installment in the series that is Chalcedony.  We have covered many different types of chalcedony in the previous series.  Today we will be discussing just Agate.  There are many types of agate and we did cover some in previous posts.  Today I would like to go more in depth with agate.  As in previous posts all the information that I used to write this blog is from the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.  So let's talk agate!

The colours of agate are all colours banded.  The colour streak is white and the Mohs hardness is 6.5-7.  The density is 2.60-2.64 and there is no cleavage.  The crystal system is trigonal microcrystalline and the chemical composition is silicon dioxide.  The transparency is translucent to opaque.

agate with great banding

Agate is a form of chalcedony that has concentric shell-like bands which may sometimes contain opal.  These bands can be multicoloured or all of the same colour.  The name is thought to have derived from the river Achates which is now called Drillo in Sicily.

The origins of agate are usually ball or almond shaped nodules and have a wide range of sizes.  They can be anywhere from a fraction of an inch to having a circumference of several yards.  It is thought that rhythmic crystallization is how the bands are formed.  There are many theories as to how agate is formed.  The old theory was that the bands were formed by crystallizing slowly in hollows that were formed by gas bubbles from a siliceous solution.  The more recent theory is that the bands are formed simultaneously with the matrix rock.  What this means is that when the  liquid drops of silicic acid cool with the cooling rock this produces a layered crystallization from the outside.  There is a new theory that postulates that colloid solutions (substances with very fine sized grains) flow into the agate hollows and forms the bands of various thickness.  There are times when the inner cavity is not filled with agate but with crystals.  Some examples of this are rock crystal, amethyst and smoky quartz.  When only the centre is filled it is called a druse but if the inside is completely filled then it is called a geode.

Nice selection of agates

There are many types of agates.  There is the eye agate so named because the bands form a ring shaped design with a point in the centre similar to an eye.  Layer agates have layers or bands of similar size parallel to the outer wall.  Dendric agate was already covered in previous post.  Enhydritic agate (water stone) is a mono-coloured chalcedony partly filled with water which can be seen through the outer walls.  Fortification agate is when the bands have corners that jut out like bastions of old fortresses.  Fire agate is an opaque limonite-baring chalcedony with an iridescence that is created through diffraction of light.  Orbicular agate has circles of agate layers, either arranged concentrically or excentrically around a centre point.  Moss agate and scenic agate have been discussed in a previous post.  Tubular agate has numerous tubes or old feeding canals.  The thunder egg of sandstone is a layered agate with strongly furrowed outer surface.  Brecciated agate is broken agate cemented together with quartz.

Agates can be found in Germany which were very important deposits in the 19th Century but these deposits are mostly gone now.  The agates in Germany could not be dyed as they came in beautiful colours of grey, pink, red, yellow, brown and pale blue naturally.  The most important deposits today come from Brazil and Uruguay.  Other deposits can be found in Australia, China, India, Caucasus, Madagascar, Mexico, Mongolia, Namibia, and the United States.

I hope everyone enjoyed learning about agates today.  I had fun writing about it today and I learned alot as well.  Please let me know how I am doing.  I would love to hear from you.  Drop me a line.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Chalcedony Species Part 3 - Dendritic Agate & Moss Agate

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to the next in our series of Chalcedony.  Today I would like to discuss dendritic agate and moss agate.  These stones I find very interesting in their colour and the way one can use these stones to create very interesting works of art.  The way that these stones are cut and polished makes them look like ferns or landscapes.  The colour are rich and intense.  I think that these stones are very unusual and unique.  I hope you enjoy learning about these stones and that you have fun as well.  As before all the information being used in this blog is from the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.

Dendritic Agate

Dendritic agate is usually colourless or a whitish-grey colour.  The chalcedony is translucent usually with tree or fern-like markings.  The name is derived from the Greek dendrites meaning tree-like.  There are some people who feel the term agate is not correct as this stone has no bandings, however must people do not consider the term to be misleading.  The dendrites are iron or manganese inclusions and are usually brown or black in colour.  This look is formed in very fine fracture surfaces through the crystallization of weathered solutions in the neighbouring rock.  The dendritic chalcedony are found with other chalcedonies.  The deposits are normally found in Brazil, India, and the United States.  There are scenic agate which is a dendritic agate in which the dendrites resembles landscape-like images in brown or reddish colour tones.  Then there is the mosquito stone.  This is where the dendritic agate has ball-like growths which is reminiscent of swarms of mosquitoes.  These types of stones are used for rings, brooches, and pendants.

Scenic Agate

Mosquito Agate



Moss Agate



Moss agate is a colourless chalcedony with green, brown or red inclusions.  The colour streak is white and the Mohs hardness is 6.5-7.  The density is 2.58-2.64 and there is no cleavage.  The crystal system is trigonal microcrystalline and the chemical composition is silicone dioxide.  Moss agate is translucent and has inclusions of green hornblende or chlorite in a moss-like pattern, hence the name.  The moss agate that has the red and brown colours are from the oxidation of iron hornblende.  As above the name agate is generally accepted even though there is no banding.  The appearance of the stone occurs through filler in fissures or as pebbles.  These rare gems are found in India, China, Russia and Colorado.  Most often used as plates, cabochons for rings, brooches, and pendants.



Moss Agate Rough



I hope everyone enjoyed this journey of discovery into the world of dendritic agate and moss agate.  I had fun learning about the new information discovered.  I would like to hear from you.  Please let me know what you think about this post or any others that I have done.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Cryptocrystalline - Chrysoprase and Bloodstone

Hi everyone,

Today I would like to discuss the next part of the cryptocrystalline family and talk about chrysoprase and bloodstone.  These two rare gemstones are very unique and different.  I like the look of bloodstone.  The unique patterns that are in them.  I hope everyone will enjoy the learning and the journey we are going to take on the path to chrysoprase and bloodstone. Also just a note that all the information that is being used in this blog is from the book Gemstones of The World  by Walter Schumann.

So let's talk chrysoprase.  The colour of the gem is green, apple-green and the colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 6.5-7 and the density is 2.58-2.64.  There is no cleavage and the chemical composition is silicon dioxide.  The transparency is translucent to opaque.  According to Mr. Schumann the gemstone chrysoprase is considered to be the most valuable of all the gemstones in the chalcedony group.  The name is Greek meaning gold-leek.  The fine quartz fibres have a radial structure.  The colouring agent is nickel.  The colour can fade in the sunlight and when heated but may be recovered under moist storage.  The gemstone occurs as nodules or filling in clefts in serpentine rocks and in weathered materials of nickel ore deposits.  The stone can be found in Australia, Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Russia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania and California.  Chrysoprase is used as cabochons, necklaces and ornamental objects.  In earlier centuries is was used as a decorative stone for the Wenceslaus Chapel in Prague, and in the Sanssouci Castle in Potsdam.

Chrysoprase stones

The bloodstone is a dark-green chalcedony with red spots and is an opaque stone.  A name that is still used in Europe is Heliotrope which is Greek for sun turner.  The green colour is caused by particles of chlorite or included hornblende needles.  The red spots are caused by iron oxide and the colours are not always constant.  According to Mr. Schumann the most important deposits are found in India but are also found in Australia, Brazil, China, and the United States.  The bloodstone is often used as seals on men's rings and for ornamental objects.  There is a trade name that is sometimes used which is blood jasper but that can be confusing as bloodstone is not a jasper.



bloodstone gemstone

 I hope that everyone had a great time learning and journeying on the path to chrysoprase and bloodstone.  I had fun and I learned some really interesting things today.  I hope you will drop me a line and let me know how I am doing.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Cryptocrystalline Quartz - Chalcedony Part 1

Hi everyone,

I would like to discuss the cryptocrystalline quartz family today.  Again this will be a multi-part series as there is a lot of information to be shared.  I hope you will join me on this journey of discovery and learning.  I think this is an interesting section of the gemstone family.  In this area are some unique stones and I really like to learn about new things.  Today we will be talking about Chalcedony, Carnelian, and Sard.  I would also like to state that all the information being provided in today's blog is from the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.



Blue Chalcedony



So let's talk chalcedony.  In his book, Walter Schumann states "Chalcedony is used by gemologists as a species name for all cryptocrystalline quartzs(eg: agate, petrified wood, chrysoprase, bloodstone, jasper, carnelian, moss agate, onyx, and sard) as well as specifically only the bluish-white-grey variety, the actual chalcedony."  Chalcedony has the appearance of being dull or waxy in its natural state.  The description of chalcedony given now is in the narrow definition of the bluish-white-grey chalcedony.  Colour is bluish, white and grey and the colour streak is white.  The Moh's hardness is 6.5-7 and the density is 2.58-2.64.  There is no cleavage and the crystal system is trigonal, fibrous aggregates.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide.  The transparency is dull, translucent.  The name chalcedony is from the ancient town at the Bosporus.  The stone itself, consists of microscopic fibers,which are parallel to each other.  The stone shows macroscopically radiating, stalactitic, grape-like or kidney shapes and it is always porous, which means the stone can be dyed.  Natural chalcedony has no banding.  This stone can be found in Brazil, India, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and California.  There is also Chrome Chalcedony which is the trade name for the natural green colour of the stone due to chromium found in Zimbabwe.



Chrome Chalcedony



Carnelian is most likely named after the colour of the kornel cherry due to its colour.  The stone is a brownish-red to orange.  It is a translucent to opaque member of the chalcedony family.  The colouring agent of the stone is iron and its colour can be enhanced by heating.  This type is found in Brazil, India, and Uruguay.  When held to the light natural carnelian has cloudy distribution of colour.  Sard is a red-brown to brown variety of the chalcedony family.  There is no real strict separation from carnelian.  The stones that tend to be darker or more brown are called sard.

Sard

I hope everyone had fun today and learned something new.  I know I had fun and learned new things.  Please let me know how I am doing.  Drop me a line, I like to hear from like minded individuals.  Until next time.



Carnelian



The rare gem lady

Quartz Species Part 5

Hi everyone,

Today I would like to finish up the macrocrystalline family.  I would like to say that it has been very interesting to learn all the neat things about quartz so far.  I have enjoyed the journey so far and I hope you have too.  Today I am going to discuss Quartz cat's-eye, Hawk's eye and Tiger's eye.  Very earthy and animalistic today!  Please join me on my journey and I hope you have fun and learn new and exciting things today.  So let's being the learning!  As before I am using the information found in the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann as the basis for all the information I am using in this blog.

So let's talk Cat's eye quartz.   The colour for cat's eye quartz is white, grey, green, yellow, and brown.  The colour streak is white and the Mohs hardness is 7.  The density is 2.58-2.64 and there is no cleavage.  The Crystal system is trigonal, usually massive and the crystal composition is silicon dioxide.  The transparency is semi-transparent to translucent.  The quartz cat's eye has numerous fiber-like inclusions of rutile create an effect called chatoyancy.  Chatoyancy is the description for the play of light on the surface which shows the effect of  cat or bird or animal of prey. This type of quartz can be sensitive to some acids.  These quartz can be found in Sri Lanka, Brazil and India.  When the stones are cut as a cabochon it shows the chatoyancy like a cat's eye which is cause for the name.  When someone calls a stone cat's eye without the quartz name attached to it most people then take the stone to mean the chrysoberyl  version of the cat's eye.

Hawk's eye is finely fibrous opaque aggregate that is formed when quartz replaces the mineral crocidolite.  The colours range from blue-grey to blue-green and iridescence of planes and fractures have a silky luster.  This type of quartz is also sensitive to some acids.  This stone is used primarily for ornamental objects and costume jewellery.  Cabochons are cut to show the chatoyancy, which is reminiscent of the bird of prey's eye.

Tiger's eye is formed from Hawk's eye where the iron from the decomposed crocidolite has oxidized to a brown colour.  The luster is silky on the fractures.  This type of quartz shows chatoyancy stripes, because the structural fractures are crooked or bent.  Tiger's eye quartz is usually found in South America, Australia, Burma, India, Namibia and the United States.  This type of quartz is used for necklaces, costume jewellery and objets d'art.  The cat's eye appearance happens when the cabochon is cut to show that effect.

I hope everyone had fun today.  I really enjoy learning new things and I hope you do too.  Please let me know what you think of this or any other posted blog.  I would love to hear back from you so please drop me a line to let me know what you think.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Quartz Species Part 4

Hi everyone,
I would like to continue the conversation we are having about the quartz family.  This is part four of a 5 part series of the macrocrystaline quartz family.  We will then take a look at the cryptocrystaline quartz family after that.  I hope everyone is having fun and learning new things along the way.  My goal is to have fun and educate people on the types of gems out there.  I have such a passion for learning about jewellery and gemstones.  In today's blog we will be discussing Rose Quartz, Aventurine, Prase and Blue Quartz.



star rose quartz gemstone



So let's talk rose quartz first.  As I have stated before all the information that I am using for this blog today is from the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.  The colour range of rose quartz is strong pink to pale pink and the colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 7 and the density is 2.65.  There is no cleavage and the crystal system is trigonal, prisms mostly compact.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide and the transparency is semitransparent to translucent.  Rose quartz is so named because of its pink colour often has a crackled appearance.  The colouring agent is titanium.  If there are rutile needles this causes a six-rayed star appearance when cut as a cabochon.  Rose quartz is found in Brazil, Madagascar, India, Mozambique, Namibia, Sri Lanka, and the United States.



Next on the list is Aventurine.  The colours for adventurine vary from green, red-brown, gold-brown and the colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 7 and the density is 2.64-2.69.  There is no cleavage and the crystal system is trigonal, massive.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide and the transparency is semitransparent to translucent.  The name of adventurine comes from Italian a ventura.  In around the year 1700 a type of glass was discovered and the same name was given to the stone that looked similar to the glass.  The look of adventurine is mostly a dark green with metallic glittering appearance which is caused by fuchsite(green mica) or red to gold brown which is cause by hematite leaves.  Aventurine is found in Brazil, India, Austria, Russia, and Tanzania. Aventurine is primarily used for ornamental objects and cabochons.

Prase is a leek green quartz who's name is from the Greek word prason.  It is usually classified as chalcedony and its colour is caused by chlorite inclusions.  Prase is usually found in Saxony, Germany, Finland, Austria, and Scotland.

Blue quartz is a turbid-blue quartz aggregate also known as quartzite.  The colour of blue quartz is caused by inclusions of crocidolite fibres.  This stone is usually found in Brazil, Austria, Scandinavia, South Africa and Virginia.  Primarily used for ornaments.

I hope everyone had a good time learning about the pink and blue quartz, the aventurine and prase today.  Please let me know what you are thinking about this series or about any of the other blogs written.  I would love to hear from you so please drop me a line.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Quartz Species Part 3 Citrine and Prasiolite

Hi everyone,

Here we are again on our journey through the wonderful world of the quartz family.  I am learning so much from the books and websites that I have looked at and visited.  I find that the quartz family or species is very interesting as there are so many colours and varieties to this family.  I hope that you will learn something new and interesting in this blog today.  I find that I always do.  I hope you have fun.

So let's talk citrine and Prasiolite.  I would like to start with citrine first.  I also would like to mention that the information that I used to write this blog has come from the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.  Citrine has the colour range of light yellow to dark yellow, gold brown and the colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 7 and the density is 2.65.  There is no cleavage and the crystal system is hexagonal, trigonal.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide and the transparency is transparent.

Citrines name is derived from the lemon yellow colour of the gemstone.  The colour agent for citrine is iron.  According to Mr. Schumann natural citrines are very rare.  Most of the citrines found on the market today are heat-treated amethysts or smoky quartz.  Brazilian amethysts are heated at 878 degrees F to produce a light yellow colour.  To achieve a dark yellow or red-brown colour the amethyst has to be heated to 1022-1040 degrees F.  To make a smoky quartz a citrine colour the gemstone must be heated to 390 degrees F.  To tell if a citrine has been heated treated look at the colour.  If it has a reddish tint to it, it has been treated.  If the gemstone is light yellow in colour than it is most likely a natural citrine.  There used to be names that were used to describe citrine but are no longer acceptable.  These names are Bahia, Madeira and Rio Grande topaz.  The only acceptable use is when they use it to describe the colour.  An example of this would be Madeira Citrine colour.  Citrines are usually found in Brazil, Madagascar, the United States, Argentina, Burma, Namibia, Russia, Scotland and Spain.

Prasiolite's colour is leek green and the colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 7 and the density 2.65.  There is no cleavage and the crystal system is hexagonal, trigonal.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide and the transparency is transparent.  The name prasiolite is Greek for leek green stone.  It is not a naturally found gemstone.  Prasiolite is created by heating violet amethyst or yellowish quartz from the deposit Montezuma in Minas Gerais, Brazil to a temperature of around 930 degrees F.

I hope that everyone that reads this blog today has had a fun time and learned something new in regards to citrine and prasiolite.  I enjoy writing about new gemstones and learning about new gemstones.  Please drop me a line and let me know how I am doing.  I would love to hear from you out there.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Quartz Species Part 2 - Amethyst & Amethyst Quartz

Hi everyone, 

In today's blog I would like to talk about Amethyst and Amethyst quartz.  I really like the dark purple colour of amethyst.  I find it to be very relaxing and soothing.  I also find it interesting that amethyst also comes in a green colour.  If you are not aware amethyst is the birthstone for people born in February.  If I was a February baby I would like the fact that my stone comes in different colours.  I hope that you will follow me on the journey that is amethyst and I hope you learn something new and exciting.

So lets talk amethyst.  As before all the information that I am using for this blog can be found in the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.  The colour ranges for amethyst are purple, violet, pale-red violet.  The colour streak is white and the Mohs hardness is 7.  The density is 2.65 and there is no cleavage.  The crystal system is trigonal, hexagonal prisms.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide.  The transparency is transparent.

In the quartz group amethyst is the most highly valued gemstone.  The name is derived from the Greek meaning not drunken.  Because of this the gemstone was worn as a protection against drunkenness.  Amethyst crystals are always grown onto a base and the prisms are not usually well developed, because of this the amethyst crystals are often found as crystal points, called pointy amethyst.  These crystals often have the deepest colour.  When amethyst is heat treated between 878 and 1382 degrees F it produces light yellow, red-brown, green or colourless varieties.  The colouring agent in amethyst is iron.

The amethyst gemstones are found in geodes in alluvial deposits.  Brazil had the most important deposits. The main place is Rio Grande do Sul which has the Palmeira amethyst and Para which has the maraba amethyst.  Other places where amethyst can be found are Madagascar, Zambia, Uruguay, Burma, India, Canada, Mexico, Namibia, Russia, Sri Lanka, and the United States.  The best stones that are found are the ones that are faceted the others are tumbled or worked into ornaments.  Amethysts used to be a favourite gemstone of the high officials of the Chrisitan Church.

Another type of quartz related to the amethyst is the ametrine, which can also be called trystine.  This type of gemstone is a colour zone quartz variety.  The gemstone consists of half amethyst and half citrine.  This gemstone is found in Brazil and Bolivia.

Amethyst Quartz is violet with whitish stripes.  The colour streak is white and the Mohs hardness is 7. The density is 2.65 and it has no cleavage.  The crystal system is trigonal, hexagonal prisms and the chemical composition is silicon dioxide.  The transparency is transparent.  The amethyst quartz is the rougher form of amethyst.  It is also more compact.  This stone is layered and striped with milky quartz.  These gemstones are formed with amethyst.   The most common uses for amethyst quartz are beads, baroque stones, cabochons and ornamental objects.

I hope everyone who reads this post enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  I hope you learned something new and interesting.  Please let me know what you think of this blog.  I would like to hear from like minded individuals.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Quartz Species Part 1 Rock Crystal and Smoky Quartz

Hi everyone,

Today I would like to discuss the quartz family.  There are many parts to the quartz family so this will also be a multi-part series.  I hope it is easier for everyone if I group the different types of quartz and talk about them separately.  I, myself find it easier to discuss the various groups if they are broken up into smaller sections.  This also allows for the material to be absorbed better.  As before all the information that I am writing about is found in the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.

The word quartz is derived from the Slavic word for hard.  It is the name for a group of minerals that have the same chemical composition.  The Macrocrystalline quartz are crystals recognizable with the naked eye.  This type of quartz has the gemstones amethyst, aventurine, rock crystal, blue quartz, citrine, hawk's eye, prasiolite, quartz cat's eye, smoky quartz, rose quartz and tiger's eye.  Cryptocrystalline quartz are microscopically small crystals.  The gemstones included in this type of quartz typically known as chalcedony are: agate, petrified wood, chrysoprase, bloodstone, jasper, carnelian, moss agate and sard.

Rock crystal is a colourless stone, the colour streak is white and the density is 2.65.  The Mohs hardness is 7 and there is no cleavage. The crystal system is trigonal, hexagonal prisms.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide and the transparency is transparent.  The name comes from the Greek meaning ice.  Cuttable rock crystal material is rare.  This gemstone can be found in Brazil, Madagascar, the United States and the Alps.  This stone is used primarily for costume jewellery and bowls and vases.

Smoky quartz is named after the smoky colour.  The very dark stones are called morion and caingorm.  The colour is brown to black, smoky grey.  The colour streak is white and the density is 2.65.  The Mohs hardness is 7 and there is no cleavage.  The crystal system is trigonal, hexagonal prisms.  The chemical composition is silicon dioxide and the transparency is transparent.  The name smoky topaz is no longer recognized in the trade to describe smoky quartz.  There are frequent inclusions of rutile needles in smoky quartz.  This gemstone can be found in Brazil, Madagascar, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland and the Ukraine.  It uses are the same as for rock crystal.

I hope everyone learned something new and exciting about rock crystal and smoky quartz.  I know that I did and I hope everyone had fun learning.  I am really enjoying writing this blog about gemstones.  I find that I am learning something new everyday and that is what is making this so rewarding for me.  I hope that you will drop me a line and let me know how I am doing. I would love to hear from you.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Beryl Species Part 3 Precious Beryl

Hi everyone,

Today I would like to finish up the section on Beryl.  We will be looking at the precious beryl family.  These gemstones are the ones that are not emerald and aquamarine.  I hope you will enjoy the journey of learning today and I hope you will learn something new and exciting about precious beryl.  I, myself am not really familiar with precious beryl so this blog will bring many new and exciting information for me to learn.  I hope you have fun on the journey of precious beryl.

So let's talk precious beryl.  The information I am using is from the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann. The colours of precious beryl range from gold-yellow, yellow-green, yellow, pink and colourless.  The colour streak is white and the Mohs hardness is 7.5-8.  The density is 2.66-2.87.  The cleavage is indistinct and the chemical composition is aluminum beryllium silicate.  The transparency is transparent to opaque. The crystal structure is hexagonal, hexagonal prisms.

According to Mr. Walter Schumann, precious beryl refers to all colour varieties of the beryl group that are not emerald or aquamarine.  These gemstones are brittle and are sensitive to pressure.  There are special names for some of the colours.  Bixbite is for the raspberry red colour of beryl.  The origin of the name is not known. Because of this there are many scientists that do not accept bixbite as a separate variety.  Golden Beryl has the colour range of lemon yellow to golden yellow.  Inclusions in this gemstone are rare.  Golden Beryl is found in Brazil, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.  Goshenite is the colourless beryl and is so named because it is located in Goshen, Massachusetts.  It has been used as an imitation diamond.  It can also be used for an imitation emerald by applying silver or green metal foil to the cut stone.  It can be found in Brazil, China, Canada, Mexico, Russia and the United States. Helidor is Greek for present of the sun.  This gemstone is a light yellow green colour.  The gemstone was discovered in 1910 in Namibia but there have been other beryls of the same colour discovered previously in Brazil and Madagascar.  Helidor is generally not accepted as it is hard to distinguish between the yellow and green yellow colours of golden beryl, so it is considered as being weak coloured golden beryls.  Morganite also known as pink beryl has the soft pink to violet colours.  Inclusions are rare in this gemstone.  Morganite is named after the American banker J.P. Morgan.  This gemstone is found in Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and the United States.

I hope everyone had fun learning about the wonderful world of Precious Beryl.  I know I learned quite a few new things and had a great time learning about them.  Please let me know what you think of this post.  I would really enjoy hearing from you so please drop me a line.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Beryl Species Part 2 Aquamarine

Hi everyone,

Today I would like to talk about the next gemstone in the beryl family which is Aquamarine.  For those of you who have a March birthday like me then you know that this is your birthstone.  When I was growing up I hated my stone.  I thought it's colour was like a washed out sapphire.  I had always wanted to be a May baby because their birthstone was emerald.  But as I grew up, I began to realize what a special colour the aquamarine is and now I do not mind having it as my birthstone.  So I would like to discuss my birthstone today.  I hope you will join me on this journey of learning and discovering.

So let's talk aquamarine.  The colour is light blue to dark blue, blue-green.  The colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 7.5-8 and the density is 2.68-2.74.  The cleavage of the aquamarine is indistinct. The crystal system is hexagonal, hexagonal prisms.  The chemical composition is aluminum beryllium silicate.  Transparency is transparent to opaque.

 In his book Gemstones of the World Walter Schumann goes into great depth about aquamarine.  This is where I am getting my information from. The meaning of aquamarine comes from Latin meaning water of the sea.  This is because of the aquamarines seawater colour.  Aquamarines of dark blue are the most desired. Iron is the colouring agent of aquamarine.  Since aquamarine is sensitive to pressure and brittle care must be taken when heating or making jewellery with it.  There are a few trade names out there in regards to aquamarine.  The first one is Santa Maria for really fine aquamarines.  It is so named because of the mine which carries the same name.  This mine is found in Ceara, Brazil.  The second trade name is Santa Maria Africana.  This is for the fine aquamarine that is mined from Mozambique.  It takes its name from the Santa Maria like quality that is found in Brazil.  The third trade name is Maxixe.  The colour of this aquamarine is deep blue beryl.  Since 1917 is has only been found in the Maxixe mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil.  Since the 1970s it is more widely available.  However it has been made more beautiful through irradiation and unfortunately the colour does not last.

The largest aquamarine that was of gemstone quality was found in Marambaya, Minas Gerais in Brazil.  The weight of the stone was 243 lb, was 18 inches long and 15.5 inches in diameter.  This stone was cut up into many different stones with a total weight of over 100,000cts.

In conclusion, I hope everyone enjoyed themselves today learning about aquamarine.  I hope the information that was presented was both enlightening and fun.  Please let me know what you think about this blog or any of the others that have been prepared for you.  I had fun learning about my birthstone and what it is all about.  I would love to hear from you.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Beryl Species Part 1 - Emerald

Hi everyone,

I would like to talk to you today about the beryl species.  In this first section I am going to discuss emerald.  I love emerald.  It is one of my favourite gemstones.  I guess I am partial to this stone because of the colour.  I love the colour green so for me there are a great deal of gemstones out there that I just adore.  It reminds me of the spring and summer.  Fresh cut grass and leaves.  Very organic and earthy.  So let's have fun and learn something new about emerald.

The colours of emerald are emerald green, green, slightly yellow-ish green.  The colour streak is white.  The Mohs hardness is 7.5-8.  Density 2.67-2.78 and the cleavage is indistinct.  Crystal system is Hexagonal which is described as three of the four axes are on one plane, are of the same length, and intersect each other at angles of 120 degrees.  The fourth axis, which is a different length, is at right angles to the others.  Typical crystal shapes are hexagonal prisms and pyramids, as well as twelve-sided pyramids, and double pyramids.  This is all found in the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.  The chemical composition is aluminum beryliium silicate.  The transparency is transparent to opaque.

The name emerald comes from the Greek word smaragdos which means green stone.  Emerald is considered to by the most precious stone in the beryl family.  The green colour of the emerald is incomparable and so by  default is called emerald green.  The colouring agent for emerald is chrome.  Beryls that are coloured by vanadium should be called green beryl not emerald.  Only the finest gemstones are transparent.  The emerald is often cloudy due to inclusions.  The inclusions are not to be considered as faults but proof of natural gemstones instead of synthetic and other imitations.  Some experts refer to the inclusions as jardin, which is French for garden.

One famous emerald piece is in the Viennese treasury is a vase which is 4.5" high and weighing in at 2205cts which was cut from a single emerald.  The biggest emerald ever found was discovered in 1969 and weighed 7,025cts.  The Devonshire Emerald is an other large emerald is 1,383.95cts.

So in conclusion I would like to say that I had a great time talking and learning about emeralds today.  I find it interesting that there is a great deal that we can learn about emeralds and I love learning about the various gemstones out there.  I had fun and I hope you did too.  Please drop me a line and let me know what you think about this or any of the other blogs.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Corundum Species Part 2 Sapphire

Hi Everyone,

I would like to continue our conversation with the next type of corundum species which is sapphire.  I hope you will follow me and enjoy our journey through the fascinating world of sapphire.  I like sapphire for the simple fact that it has many shades and colours to it.  It is not what one would call a one hit wonder.  I am especially fond of all the colours but I would have to say I am different in the fact that blue would be my least favourite colour of sapphire.  I really would like to have one day a multicoloured sapphire bracelet.  I find that all the colours together blend so harmoniously and look stunning all arranged to look like a rainbow on your wrist.

So let's talk sapphire.  According to Walter Schumann in the book Gemstones of the World sapphires have the colour blue in various tones, colourless, pink, orange, yellow, green, purple and black.  The sapphire has a Mohs hardness of 9 and the density is 3.95 to 4.03.  The colour streak is white.  There is no cleavage with sapphire which is the same as Ruby.  The crystal system which was explained in the first part of corundum when we discussed the ruby is Trigonal, doubly pointy, barrel shaped, hexagonal pyramids, tabloid shaped.  The composition is aluminum oxide.  The transparency is transparent to opaque.

The name sapphire comes from the Greeks and means blue.  The history of sapphire follows along the same lines as ruby in that in the book Gemstones of the World it is discussed that until 1800 sapphire used to apply to various stones.  Even as far back as the Middle Ages sapphire was understood to mean what is now called lapis lazuli.  In 1800 sapphire and ruby were recognized as corundum, and only at first was blue recognized as sapphire.  Corundums of other colours were given special names which often were misleading.  Some examples that were given in the book are Oriental peridot for the green sapphire and Oriental topaz for the yellow variety.  Today all colours except red are called sapphire.  The red of course being called ruby.  Sapphires are qualified by the description of colour ie: green sapphire, pink sapphire.  The colourless sapphire is called leuko-sapphire which is Greek for white.  There is the rare pinkish orange sapphire called Padparadscha which is Sinhalese for "Lotus Flower".  Mr. Schumann goes on to say, "There is no definite demarcation between ruby and sapphire.  Light red, pink, or violet corundums are usually called sapphires, as in this way they have individual values in comparison with other colours.  If they were grouped as rubies, they would be stones of inferior quality."

The blue sapphires colour agents are iron and titanium, vanadium in violet, a small amount of iron for yellow and green, chromium for pink and vanadium for orange.  The most coveted colour of sapphire is the pure cornflower blue.    Some of the more famous sapphires are the Star of India(536cts) which is considered to be the largest cut star sapphire, which is owned by the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  There is the Midnight Star(116cts), which is a black star sapphire and the Star of Asia(330cts) which is owned by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.  Two other famous sapphires, the St.Edward's and the Stuart are part of the English Crown Jewels.

As one can see there is alot we can learn about sapphires.  I hope everyone out there learned something interesting and fun today.  I enjoyed learning about the sapphire and I found it interesting about the famous gems.  Please drop me a line, let me know what you think.  I enjoy hearing from everyone.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Corundum Species The Ruby

Hi everyone,

Today I would like to break down the types of gems and talk about each individual species.  The species I am going to discuss and learn about today is the corundum species.  The two categories that fall under this species is Ruby and Sapphire.  The name corundum is originally from India. 

Let's talk about the ruby first.  The colour is varying shades of red.  The colour streak is white.  For those of you who do not know what colour streaking is, it is when the inherent colour of the stone is determined.  This occurs when you scratch the stone on a rough porcelain plate called the streak plate.  The ruby has a Mohs hardness of 9.  It's density is between 3.97 and 4.05  The cleavage is none.  In the book Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann cleavage is described as "Many gemstones can be split along certain flat planes, which experts call cleavage." The crystal system is (trigonal) hexagonal prisms or tables, rhombohedrons.  In Gemstones of the World this system is described as "Three of the four axes are in the same plane, are of equal length, and intersect each other at angles of 120 degrees.  The fourth axis, which is of different length, is at right angles to the others.  The difference is one of symmetry.  In the trigonal system it is three sided.  Typical crystal forms of the trigonal system are three sided prisms and pyramids, rhombohedra, and scalenohedra.  The chemical composition of the ruby is Aluminum oxide.  Its transparency is transparent to opaque.

Ruby is derived from the Latin word ruber.  The red colour of the ruby is probably what gave the ruby its name.  It was around 1800 that ruby and sapphire were recognized as belonging to the corundum species.  According to Gemstones of the World red spinel and the red garnet were also designated as ruby before 1800.  The most desirable colour for the ruby is called pigeon's blood, which is described as pure red with a hint of blue.  The substance that provides the colour for the ruby is called chromium.  When a ruby is in it rough state the stone appears dull and greasy but when it is cut the luster can rival that of the diamond.  The most common treatment done to rubies is a heat treatment to improve the colour of the gem.  Ruby is known as the hardest mineral after diamond.  Inclusions are common in rubies and do not usually affect quality.  Inclusions typically indicate natural versus synthetic stones.  To have the rare cat's-eye effect and the asterism effect( a six-rayed star) the ruby has to have included rutile needles and the cobochon cut brings out this effect.

a nice example of a star ruby

There have been some famous rubies.  The largest cuttable ruby weighed in a 400cts.  There is the Edwardes Ruby(167cts), which is in the British Museum of Natural History in London, the Rosser Reeves star ruby (138.7cts), located in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the peace ruby (43cts) which called this because it was found in 1919 at the end of WW1.  There is also the De Long Star ruby(100cts) in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  There are rubies in many royal insignia. For example the Bohemian St.Wenzel's crown(Prague) holds a non-faceted ruby of about 250cts.

In conclusion I would like to say that I hope everyone enjoyed reading and learning something new about the Ruby.  I had fun reading and learning new things about the ruby.  I hope to hear form everyone out there interested in this subject.  I would enjoying hearing from you what you thought about this blog or any of the others I have written about.  Please drop me line and let me know what you think.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Gemstones of the world

Hi everyone,

Have you ever wondered where your favourite gem came from?  Why are the gems found there?  What is it about the conditions of the country or area that makes it possible for the gems to form there?  Why is it that there is a great diversity as to where the gems are formed?

I find it fascinating that diamonds for example can be found in Canada and also in Africa.  What is it about diamonds that causes them to be created in such different areas of the world?  In the world there are two types of diamond harvesting.  The first is alluvial deposits.  This is where the gemstones are near the surface and are relatively easy to find.  Examples of places like this are Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India.  These are considered secondary deposits.  The gems have been transported there due to weathering and erosion.  It has been said in the book Gems of the World that approximately 80% of diamonds recovered from alluvial deposits are of gem quality because most of the flawed diamonds have been broken up during transport.  There are what is called primary deposits.  This is where the diamond is mined from the stone it was formed in.  I have discovered in the book Gems of the World by Cally Oldershaw that diamonds are also being pulled from the ocean.  On the Namibian coast there are special ships which suck up the sand and diamonds.

 I also find it interesting that garnets are pretty much found all over the world.  They can be found in Europe, Russia, Africa and Australia.  Then there are opals.  They are found in Europe, Australia and North America and Mexico.  Australia is primarily known for the black opal and regular opal and Mexico is primarily known for the fire opal.  I discovered when I looked on the map of where the gems were located that coral is always found around the islands which makes sense as coral the organic material is found in the ocean.  Asia and Africa seem to be the primary places to find the most desired gems.  They have the big four which are diamond, sapphire, emerald and ruby.   They also have garnets, tourmalines, topaz, amethysts, spinels, aquamarines and moonstones.  That is a vast array of different types of gems located in that part of the world.

I was fascinated by the different gemstones of the world.  It is interesting to be able to see where the gemstones come from.  I found that similar areas such as North America and Europe produced similar gemstones and the same with Asia and Africa.  I would think that similar climate conditions would probably produce the same type of gemstone.  I would like to point out that diamond would be different in that fact that it is produced so deep in the earth that it would be possible to have such different climates such as Canada and Africa being able to produce diamonds.  I hope you enjoyed this journey with me and I hope something new was learned.  Please let me know what you think.  I look forward to hearing from like minded people.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady

Unique Gems

Hi Everyone,

Today I would like to talk about unique gems.  What are unique gems?  What is it about them that makes them unique?  Would they also fall under the category of rare gems?  I find it fascinating to learn new ideas and things about gemstones.  I find that it is fun to search the web to see what other people have found out and to use their knowledge to learn about one of my favourite topics which is gems and jewellery.  I would like for you to join me on this journey of discovery and I hope you will learn as much as I do in the course of this blog.

Let us look at the first question which is, what are unique gems.  Some of the most unique gems that I have come across are Ammolite which is a gemstone made from ammonites.  I also think that ametrine is very unique in the fact that it is made up of both amethyst and citrine.  There is also colour as a factor in making a gem unique.  For example a blue spinel or a red diamond.  These colours would be extremely rare and unique for that type of gem.  A red emerald would also be considered very unique and rare as well.

What is it about these gems that make them unique?  Well one could say that the rare colour would make certain gems unique like the previous examples.  What about a certain ability?  For example, Alexandrite would be very unique in that it changes colour under certain light conditions.  There is also the colour change garnet that does a very similar thing.  It too changes colour under certain light conditions.  I would consider that ability to change colour to be an unique ability for a gem to have.

Does the uniqueness of a gem make it rare?  I would say that in most cases when something is unique it does make it rare.  There are exceptions of course to every rule.  I said above that ametrine is unique but it is not really rare in terms of scarcity.  There are many gems out there that are both rare and unique.  There does seem to be a correlation between colour and uniqueness.  Like the examples given above.  The primary thing that makes the gem both unique and rare is the colour.  The more difficult it is to find a diamond in a red colour makes it rare and valuable.  The blue spinel is also very rare and valuable.

I hope this brief look at unique gems has brought you some new insight into the world of unique gems.  I had fun learning about the different and interesting gems and the unique abilities some gems have.  I hope everyone had as much fun as I did in the researching and looking on the web.  Until next time, I hope you will drop me a post and let me know what you thought about this blog.  I would enjoy hearing from you.

The rare gem lady.

Gemstone Meanings

Hi Everyone,

Have you ever wondered what the meaning of the gemstone that you admire is?  Do you ever think about how the meaning of gems are figured out?  Who does the picking of the meaning?  Has the meaning changed over the years?  If the meaning has changed who changed it and why?  Does it have any relevance to the type of gem?  Does its meaning reflect on the person who found the gem or assigned its meaning to the gem?  That is alot of questions and in turn those questions lead to more questions.  I will try to find the answers to these questions.  I hope you will come on the journey with me and I hope you will learn what I learn and enjoy the adventure the same way that I will.

Let's look at some of these questions and find the answers. On the website crystal-cure.com.  There are many different categories of gem meanings.  There are money stones, loves stones, lucky stones, power stones, protection stones, healing stones, birth stones, astral stones, planetary stones, birth power stones, chakra stones, dream stones.  It is interesting to look at these categories and find the stone that would best suit your needs.  There are also stones to help focus your thinking, clarity and all other manner of things.  I find it neat to see the various types of gems and to match them up to what their powers are.
On the website GemSelect.com they talk about the gentleman who has the best compendium of gemstone lore is undoubtedly that found in George Frederick Kunz's book The Curious Lore of Precious Stones published in 1913. He believed that we can learn a great deal by studying the ways in which gemstones were used by different cultures and the beliefs that people at different times formed about rare gems. But for Kunz this study wasn't just sociological curiosity, it was a way of learning about gemstones themselves: "Many of these ideas may seem strange enough to us now, and yet when we analyze them we find that they have their roots either in some intrinsic quality of the stones or else in an instinctive appreciation of their symbolical significance."

It appears through much search on the internet that there is really no general person or people who have named the gems or given them their meanings.  It has been passed down through the generations and that the meanings ascribed to the gems have also been passed down through the generations.  Most meanings of gems are related to the ability of the stone.  For example stones that promote healing.  There are many different types of meanings and stones out there.  I found it fun and interesting to see the different meanings and which stones would be the one to choose.  I think it is fascinating that gems have been seen as gifts and that the powers in them can be used for just about anything.  I also found out that the meaning of the gems have remained fairly consistent over the internet.  So it does not matter which website you visit you will get a fairly similar description of the gemstone and the powers and use of the gem.

So in conclusion I have found that there are meanings that are ascribed to gems that have to do with power, healing, love money and spirituality.  I had a great time learning about the different meanings of the gems and how to use gems to achieve the goal that you want.  IE using aquamarine for clear thinking.  I hope that all of you have enjoyed the journey as much as I did and I hope you learned something new as well.  Please drop me a line and let me know what you think.  It is great to hear from like-minded individuals.

Types of Gems

Hi Everyone,

I would like to discuss the types of gems that are available out there.  There are different ways of determining types of gems.  The most common way would be to differentiate between precious and semi precious gems.  The big four which are diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire are considered to be precious gems.  All of the other types of gems would be considered to be semi precious gems.  Unless they are considered to be organic.  That would be a very general way to describe the types of gems out in there.  There are also a way to classify types of gems based on the material the gem would be made of.  On the website typesofgemstones.com they list categories of gems.  Here is what they have listed on their website.

There are many different types of gemstones.  Here are some categories of gemstones:

• Corundum:  Corundums are gemstones like rubies and sapphires.  The corundum is the second hardest type of gemstone.  It is made of aluminum oxide and a variety of trace minerals.  Due to its very tough nature, rough corundum is actually used as an abrasive element.
• Quartz:  These gemstones include citrine, carnelian, onyx, and amethyst.  Quartz is one of the world's most common types of minerals.  Quartz comes in a multitude of colors.  Though quartz is found fairly commonly in nature, it is still considered a gem because it is rare to find a large and unflawed quartz gem.
• Beryl:  These gemstones include emeralds and aquamarines and are related to quartz.  Beryl is made of berylium and aluminum, but has some other elements mixed in.  It can be in its transparent form or be colored green, light blue, or even red or yellow.
• Diamonds:  These stones are considered the most valuable in the world
• Chrysoberyl:  This type includes both cat's eyes and alexandrite.  It is the third hardest gemstone.  It has a lot of berylium mixed with the base element of aluminum oxide.  Chrystoberyls typically have a green to yellow shade that is known for appearing differently under different shades of lighting.
• Jade:  Jade has recently been given its own category since under chemical analysis, scientists learned that jade is indeed different from beryl.  Jade stones typically are made of calcium and magnesium elements.
• Feldspar:  Feldspar is frequently found in earthquake faults and volcanic chains.  Due to heat and pressure, the tectonic elements of a feldspar come together to form a red gemstone called feldspar.
• Organic gemstones:  These types of gemstones occur in organic sources rather than mineral sources.   For example, amber forms from tree sap that has been fossilized.  Pearls are formed from oysters.

As one can see there are many ways to indicate the types of gems.  For example ehow.com goes into even greater classification of types of gems.  "Gemstones can be broken down into three basic categories: crystalline versus amorphous, organic versus inorganic and mineral versus rock."  They also make the distinction of natural versus man made or synthetic.
Read more: Types of Gems & Stones | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5366594_types-gems-stones.html#ixzz1aoFUhCp5
I have posted the above website address so that you can visit to learn more about their information and the examples that they have used.  I hope that this has helped in regards to learning more about the types of gems and how they are categorized.  I find that when I do blogs like this I learn new things and I hope that the people out there who read this blog find the information useful, helpful and enlightening.  I like feeling that I am helping others to learn and understand more about the fascinating world of gems.  If you would like to leave a comment or ask a question I would be more than happy to get back to you.  I would love to hear from others letting me know how I am doing.  I am having a blast writing this blog and learning from all of the valuable information out there on the web.  Drop me a line and let me know how it is going.  Until next time.

The rare gem lady.

What are rare gems?

Hi everyone,

Have you ever wondered at the definition of rare gems?  I have.  Are they rare because they are scarce?  Are they rare because they are valuable?  Are they considered rare because there are very few places in the world that produce them?  There are alot of questions one can raise in regards to rare gems.  To find out about rare gems and stones one should probably look up the definition of what a rare gem means.

   The Gemological Institute of America has taught students that "gems are specimens of minerals or organic materials used for personal adornment that possess the attributes of beauty, rarity, durability and portability."  In the simplest sense you could say that a rare gemstone is one that is found in limited quantity. In this case we define the term rare to mean, restricted availability of a gem as defined by Kiasilver on their website under the description "Rare gemstones, What Defines A Rare Gem Stone. 

   They also go on to use other defining factors to relate to rareness in gems.  Some of the more popular ways to determine the rareness of a gem is the type of gem.  Some examples of the this type of rarity would be Chrome Diopside which is only found in Russia or Ammolite Gems which can only be found in Southern Alberta, Canada. One other way to determine rarity is through the size of the gem.  The larger the gem the more rare it will be.  Another way to look at what a rare gem could be is through color.  The more saturated or darker the color typically the more rare it would be.  An example of this would be the dark purple blue with flashes of red Tanzanite.  It is easier to find lighter blue Tanzanite but harder to find the darker color so therefore the darker color would be considered more rare and also more valuable.  There is also the definition of the gem as natural.  This would almost be a given based on the fact that lab created gems would not be considered rare at all.  There is also one more definition on the website but even they are hesitant to use it as it based on the shape of the gem.  There are many types of shapes out there and some gems are almost always cut in a certain type shape or shapes.  Some people could say that just because the gem has a different or exotic cut or shape that it is rare.  I personally would not be one of those people.  There are so many skilled gemstone cutters out there that if you had the money and patience you could have a rare cut for almost any type of gem out there.

   On the website Geology 115 basic Terms there is a brief description on what makes a rare gem.  They have written
A gem is rare. There are two types of rarity involved: relative and inherent.

Relative: Many gem minerals occur in various locales and, often, in large deposits, but the vast majority of the material does not approach "gem quality".
Inherent: Other minerals occur in only a few locations or in very small deposits. Inherently rare gems are doubly rare as the fraction of an already small amount of ore which is gem quality is very, very, small indeed. 

   So by looking at all the different definitions out there the reason a gem might be considered rare is scarcity of the gem.  Which is how little of the gem is produced or the quality desired is limited.  There is not alot of the gem material around.  The color, size and type are also used to determine rarity.  I hope this helped everyone out there reading this.  If you have any questions or would just like to comment on the material please leave a comment and I will get back to you.  I hoped it was enjoyable and enlightening.  If you learned anything new then my job is done.  I enjoyed writing this blog and I look forward to hearing from all the people out there who are interested in gems.

Meet the rare gem lady

Psst! I have a secret! I love rare and exotic gemstones.  I also have a secret guilty pleasure.  I love to go to jewellery sites and look at all the precious gems and jewellery.  Are you like me?  Do you love rare and different gemstones?  Do you love to go onto jewellery websites and look at all the gorgeous jewellery? I enjoy going onto the various jewellery websites.  I really like jewellery Television and have gotten quite a few nice bracelets from them.  I also enjoy e-bay, the Shopping Channel and Bidz.  I really enjoy talking about and having discussions about rare gems.  Some of my favourite gems are chrome diopside, tsavorite, morganite, alexandrite.  I would love to make some time in my busy schedule and maybe take a few courses about gemstones and maybe jewellery making.  I love the idea of making something from all of the beautiful gems out there.  To see what looks good together.  There are so many different types of gemstones out there that I enjoy looking them up and learning about them.  I think it is great when people stop and ask me about my jewellery.  I really enjoy talking about what the gems are and where I got the jewellery from.  My name is Tamara and my family call me the rare gem lady.  I look forward to hearing from other like-minded individuals out there.  Hopefully we can share and learn from one another. Please let me know what you think about this post and hopefully we can share our love of rare and exotic gemstones.