Jewelry Lovers

The beguiling luster of this attractive gemstone—shining like damp moss in autumn sunshine—earned peridot the sobriquet of “green gold.” In earlier times it was readily linked with the sun, of whose bright rays it was said to be the keeper and therefore alleged to be a shield against the threat of eclipse and blindness of the eyes. Peridot belongs to the olivine family, whose aristocratic representative it is. Here we meet a second gemstone, like garnet, which is a member of an isomorphous series of mixed crystals. By this is understood the property of interchanging inherent elements without altering the crystal structure. Peridot stands approximately in the middle of such a series, flanked by two unprepossessing minerals as end members.

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On all continents, in the sand of the seashore, in fissures in the Alps—everywhere quartz is to be found, the most ubiquitous mineral on our earth. The reason for this is that silicon dioxide penetrated throughout the entire magmatic cycle and participated, as quartz, in all stages of rock and mineral formation. In gem quality, with a series of attractive varieties, it emanated only from the pegmatitic, and principally from the hydrothermal, phase.

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As a token of gratitude for the assistance in arms and the victory won near Najera (i 367), he gave the precious stone to the Black Prince. After the Prince’s death the coveted gem was inherited by the tragic Richard II, and doubtless fell into Bolingbroke’s possession when he ascended the throne as Henry IV: the lovely stone is heard of again at the Battle of Agincourt, where King Henry V wore it in his golden helmet. In Cromwell’s inventory of the Crown Jewels it is described as a “large balas ruby” and assigned a value of a whole 4 pounds! Today this magnificent ruby-red spinel, set in a Maltese cross of brilliant-cut diamonds,

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In her magic garden of crystal blossoms deep in the earth, the Earth Goddess cherished a treasure of choicest excellence, to which she gave an abundance of melting colors, as well as high refraction (1.72) and vivid fire (0.02 1), notable hardness (8) and complete absence of cleavage. From the sum of this generous endowment emanated the sprightly spinel, which possibly owes its name to the Greek spinther, meaning “spark.” The Latin word spina means “thorn,”

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Nevertheless, not all topazes grow from pegmatitic mineral formation, for fluorine-rich solutions also impregnated the country rock at an even later stage and, where hot enough, dissolved the existing minerals. Thus silica and alumina were freed so as to combine with the fluorine to form topaz. Such processes of replacement took place mainly in cracks and druses. It is exclusively the topazes from these pneumatolytichydrothermal deposits which concern the gem market, for here every glorifying property—beauty of color, hardness, and durability—is imparted to them, elevating them into sought after and treasured gemstones.

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Ever since man became acquainted with topaz, this noble stone has been paying dearly for the melodiousness of its name, which was formerly bestowed on the whole range of all yellow to golden brown gemstones. At the heart of such misnomers is the citrine, a variety of quartz mostly obtained through the heating of amethyst. This stone, lacking brilliance and fire, with its glassy luster, is not only far removed from, but not even worthy to be compared with, the incomparably more lively, more brilliant topaz, flaunting its warm golden tones.

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ALL stages of imaginable color possibilities are captured by this gemstone which, in addition to white and black, embraces every hue to be found in the spectrum, not only in pure tones but in all the fine nuances of innumerable shades, transitions, and mixtures. Should a collector set himself the task of amassing all the colorings of tourmaline, he would find a lifetime insufficient to incorporate the thousands upon thousands of ever differently tinted specimens into his collection.

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Nature has conferred on zircon several quite outstanding optical properties which furnish brilliant-cut specimens with a particularly striking appearance. High adamantine luster and very vivid fire elevate zircon into the immediate proximity of diamond. Its specific gravity is unequalled by any other transparent gemstone. Its high refractive index of 1.95 and powerful color-dispersive ability of 0.038 make it an impressive gemstone, whose fascination is further increased by the remarkable fact that these values are by no means constant, being subject to a certain variability about whose ultimate rules there is still no general understanding.

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Over and above the gemstones are still numerous minerals which make beautiful gemstomes in cut form as well as completely fulfilling the requirements of beauty, rarity, and durability. Their popularity and their market success are mostly determined by their great rarity; because of the latter they are all the more coveted by collectors. Contrary to prevailing ideas, these extremely rare and unusual collectors‘ delights can be obtained at favorable prices.

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Agate—diversely beautiful, multicolored, and variously formed as it is, its endless abundance of abstract designs can only be hinted at by the descriptions “spotted, cloudy, marbled, banded, or dappled.” To the ancient Greeks and Romans it was already known in the form of colored pebbles collected from the Achates River in Sicily.

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