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The Gemstone Information Encyclopedia
For most jewelry customers, the standard gems including diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, pearl, opal, turquoise, topaz and amethyst are all that are ordinarily asked for. The demand for these is relatively steady. Yet, as the pages below will show, there are many others whose beauty and rarity make them worthy of consideration; some among them like peridot and tourmaline are slowly becoming better known by jewelry buyers. This gemstone encyclopedia exists to inform those who enjoy gemstones and jewelry about the many types of stones that are available - not just the well known few. The pastime of collecting examples of these many unique gemstones is becoming more and more popular, with some special types of stones being brought to light by shopping oriented television stations. In the pages below, we will take a look at all the important facts about many gems, covering the colors reflectivity and other characteristics. These pages also contain information about gemstone mine sources and other related information you are seeking. We are frequently asked questions about gemstones and you will find individual gemstone pages for the most popular stones and some lesser known special stones that we feature for sale - Click on each featured stone or the more general FAQ answers listed below for more information:
| Amethyst - also Ametrine and Citrine | Apatite - Neon Blue & Other Colors |
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| Benitoite - The California Gem | Aquamarine - Blues and Greens | |
| Chrysoberyl - Yellow/green and Catseye | Diamond - King of the Gems | |
| Emerald - Bright and Full of Sparkle | Garnet - Fiery Red & Tsavorite | |
| Iolite: Sapphire Blues | Kunzite and Hiddenite: Spodumene | |
| Morganite: Pretty in Pink | Opal - From Around The World | |
| Peridot - Bright Greens | Ruby - Fiery Reds | |
| Sapphire - All Colors | Scapolite: Golds and Purples | |
| Spinel - Natural, and in All Colors | Sphene: yellow greens | |
| Sunstone - Oregon Reds and Yellows | Tanzanite - Beautiful Blues | |
| Topaz - The many colored Gem | Tourmaline - Reds, Blues & Greens | |
| Turquoise - Blues and Greens | Zircon - All Colors | |
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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT GEMSTONES Beauty, durability, and rarity: such are the three cardinal virtues of a perfect gemstone. Stones lacking any of them cannot aspire to a high place in the ranks of precious stones, although it does not necessarily follow that they are of no use for ornamental purposes. That a gemstone should be a delight to the eye is a truism that need not be labored; for such is its whole raison d'etre. The colors that are most admired - the fiery red of ruby, the royal blue of sapphire, the verdant green of emerald, and the golden yellow of topaz are purest chromatic tints, and the light absorption spectra corresponding to them are on the whole continuous and often narrowly focused. Our Gemstone encyclopedia has nearly everything you always wanted to know about the mysterious world of gemstones. The Internet is about information, and we want to provide you with all the information you will need on both the common and some less common gems. Any of these lesser known stones may suddenly spring into prominence owing to the choices of fashion or perhaps a stone may figure at some royal wedding; when it is in the spotlight for a brief while it becomes the vogue, and afterwards is seldom seen, even though its beauty remains constant. Our gemstone encyclopedia is one of the most extensive information sources on the internet, as we want our customers to be comfortable and knowledgeable concerning their purchases. Above are gem specific and informative pages of information on each individual gemstone, and below on this text are the answers to a number of common questions about gemstones in general. |
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| Gem FAQ No. 1: What Really Is A Gemstone? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 2: Where do Gemstones Actually Come from? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 3: What Makes Gemstones so Valuable? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 4: What About Investing in Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 5 : What About Treated or Altered Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 6 : Can You Dig Up Your Own Valuable Gemstones? |
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| Gem FAQ No. 7 : What About Collecting Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 8 : What Causes Color In Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 9 : Does Gemstone Healing and Gem Therapy Work? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 10 : What Are Rare and Unusual Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 11 : What About Birthstones and Birthday Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 12 : What About Synthetic and Man-made Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 13 : What Are Some Books Where I Can Learn About Gemstones? | ||
| Gem FAQ No. 14 : Can I Make My Own Gemstone Jewelry? | ||
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The gem minerals are those which, on account of certain
physical characters, are regarded as objects of beauty, and are used for
personal adornment or other ornamental purposes. Color, refractive index,
dispersive power, hardness, transparency, and the absence of inclusions, are as
a rule the chief physical factors determining the qualities of gemstones. The
value of the stones, however, depends largely on their rarity. Most gem
minerals are highly transparent and variable in color. This variability is well
exemplified in the several color varieties of the mineral corundum, of which the
best known are the ruby (red), and the sapphire (blue and other colors). The
diamond is a unique instance of a generally colorless gemstone in which the
qualities of hardness, refractive index and dispersive power are all developed
to an extremely high degree. In some instances, non-transparent minerals are
used as gemstones. These types of stone possess an attractive color gives a
value in the absence of transparency. Some examples include turquoise, precious
opal, jade, jasper and some other forms of silica, malachite, and pyrite may be
mentioned. Gemstones as a whole show a wide range of chemical composition. The
diamond is unique chemically as it is physically, for it is the only natural
gemstone consisting of a single element. Many of them are oxides, such as ruby,
sapphire, amethyst and other forms of silica. A large number are
silicates, like garnet, olivine, emerald, and tourmaline. Other types such as
carbonates (malachite, azurite, and calcite), phosphates (turquoise and apatite)
and fluorides (fluorite) are also represented.
This is your Gemstone Information Encyclopedia explaining and
providing all you want to know about: Gems, crystals, minerals, diamonds, colored gems,
gemstone mines, colored stones, unique bridal jewelry, sapphire, tanzanite, gem
information, gem origins, gemstone mining, Turquoise Jewelry, Gold Turquoise Jewelry,
silver jewelry, natural gems, gem treatment, gemstone alterations, gem enhancement,
gemstone jewelry, gemstone geology, gemstone encyclopedia, gemstone information, gemstone
investment, gem and jewelry prices. The links above are literally a treasure trove of free information
about the little known facts about gemstones.
NEVADA OUTBACK GEMS
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