The study of gemology can vary from tedium to astounding revelation. Mostly it’s boring … especially at first. Partly because you don’t have a clue about what you’re reading.
Then a glimmer of understanding reaches out toward you and you really begin to understand refraction or dispersion.
Be careful … since at that point you may be hooked. Next comes the desire for refractometers and microscopes and begging anyone for gems to study.
We hope you find some enthusiasm here among these dry pages.
If you start to develop a more keen interest in gemology, start studying minerals. After all, gems are merely optically appealing specimens of minerals that have mundane uses in their common form.
Garnet, as an example, was once used as the grit on sandpaper.
Find and join your local gem faceter’s club. A good cutter has to know quite a lot about gems.
A Gem is a gem because it is
- Beautiful Though mere shards of common earthly elements, those elements are so exquisitely combined they have elicited the best and worst in human emotion. Gems have inspired love, hate, envy, greed, poetry and lust. The beauty of a fine gem is beyond description and that is much of what makes it a gem
- Durable Diamond is king of hardness at 10 on the mohs scale. Gems with a Mohs hardness of 8 and above will be highly resistant to abrasion over time.
- Rare Fine gems come from the earth, mostly as a result of volcanic activity, growing and forming into crystal structures. But only a tiny fraction of these combinations of elements display the appropriate color, transparency and size to be gems.
- Then they hide from us beneath tons of rocks in inaccessible regions spanning the universe.
If something does not meet these three criteria, it cannot be a Gem.
Gem Terms Commonly Used with Faceted Gems
- Carat - Measure of weight; 1 carat = 1/5 gram
- Color - Referred to technically as Hue
- Proportions - dimensions and geometric ratios used in fashioning gems
- Clarity - the absence or presence of internal characteristics.
Gem Carat Weight Related to Value
A carat is 1/5 of a gram and commonly divided into points. 1 carat = 100 points. It is common to hear small gemstones called x pointers.
Gems are normally priced per carat. Do Not assume a price is for the gem unless it is specifically stated.
The larger the gemstone, all factors being equal, the higher its price per carat. Most gems have value thresholds. (ex) A .51 carat ruby is worth more per carat than a gem of identical quality of .49. Other thresholds are 1 carat, 2 carat and 5 carat.
JEWELRY
Jewelry is the dominant reason for the purchase of diamonds, colored gems and gold. We adorn our bodies with the finery of gemstones and precious metals for any number of reasons.
Amber may have been the first form of jewelry. The first homo-erectus probably found the attractive resin shards along the seashore, washed up on the beach after a storm.
Mollusk shells would also have been an attractive source of ornamentation as well a providing handy cutting tools. Natural obsidian could have served as a tool and decoration as well.
For many, jewelry is a way of feeling better about themselves because it can attract favorable attention if designed and worn properly.
Gems and jewelry are often worn as status symbols. In ancient times, only royal persons were allowed to wear gemstones.
Jewelry is now available in a bewildering variety of designs, materials and types. Some of the newer metals such as titanium, precious metal clay and stainless steel are making jewelry designs more distinctive as well as more affordable.
Jewelry artisans are skilled craftsmen with a seemingly endless imagination. And one-of-a-kind items from the master jewelers are sought after.
But jewelry artisans are not the only innovators. Buff-cut aka cab top gems have added a new durability that purely faceted gems cannot match.
But the single greatest innovation in gem cutting has to be concave faceting. The technique is simply remarkable.
Gem Stones
- Colored Gems
- Amethyst
- Aquamarine
- Citrine
- Emerald
- Garnet
- Opal
- Padparadscha
- Peridot
- Ruby Sapphire
- Spinel
- Tanzanite
- Topaz
- Tourmaline Zircon
For further information, visit www.asia-gems.com and geo.utexas.edu. Photo from vivicgems.com
For training and seminars, contact:
TLRC Building
#103 J. Abad Santos cor. Lopez Jaena Sts.,
Little Baguio, San Juan, Metro Manila
Tel: (02) 727-6205
Web: www.tlrc.gov.ph
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July 19th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
What does it take to get licensed in gemology?