To get precious stones and minerals from the bowels of the Earth, one has to dig huge quarries. Priceless production is formed only in the thickness of the earth’s crust, under tremendous pressure and at high temperature, and it takes millions of years to form it. No wonder these noble minerals are so expensive.
Absolutely all precious stones in the world are mined only by hand. Jewelry prices will continue to grow, because there are fewer and fewer true minerals on the planet. Not all mined diamonds receive a beautiful cut and show off in the windows of jewelry stores. About 90% of these stones are consumed by industry. The largest emerald crystal was mined in Brazil in 1974, weighing 28 kilograms. Of all the gemstones, diamond is the only one consisting of only one chemical element. In this case, from carbon. On average, 20 tons of processed soil are produced per emerald carat in Colombia. The weight of gemstones is measured in carats. One carat is 0.2 grams. There is a special ant pomegranate that can only be found next to anthills. During the construction of the nest, insects throw crystals of this mineral onto the surface. These ants are found only in the USA, in a place called “Four Corners”. A science that studies the physical and optical properties of gemstones is called gemology. Before the invention of the Mohs scale, the mineralogical hardness scale, stones were determined by color. So all green stones became emeralds, red ones became rubies, and so on.
Many mistakenly believe that a diamond is only colorless. In fact, any gemstone can envy the color of a diamond. But nowadays, many colored diamonds are artificially painted. In order to distinguish a real diamond from its imitation, a special “diamond probe” is used, which measures the thermal conductivity of the studied stone. Diamond has a much higher thermal conductivity than its substitutes. On average, a real emerald costs more than a diamond of the same weight, size and quality. Rubies and sapphires are a kind of corundum. Red corundums are called rubies, blue – sapphires. An impurity of chromium gives a red color to the ruby, and the blue color of sapphire is caused by the presence of impurities of titanium and iron. Some gems are afraid of ultraviolet radiation. Colored topazes, for example, fade over time due to exposure to sunlight. The number of pearls in one shell of a freshwater mollusk can reach several tens. For example, in some mussels the number of pearls sometimes exceeds 100 pieces.
Ruby and sapphire are one and the same. The difference between these stones is only in color. Topaz El Dorado is the record holder for the world’s largest faceted gem, weighing 31,000 carats, which is equivalent to 6.2 kg. It is part of the Gem Collection Special Exhibition at Programa Royal Collections, which is based in Madrid, Spain. Gems are called precious, semiprecious and ornamental stones, which are used as jewelry and ornamental raw materials. They are usually transparent or translucent. Alexandrite was named in honor of Tsarevich Alexander, the future Emperor Alexander II. The largest amber deposit is the Kaliningrad region. The amber plant in the village of Yantarn gives about 90% of the world production of this stone. There is a so-called red emerald. This is actually a type of beryl called bixbit. This rare mineral is mined only in the US state of Utah. Pink topaz is the rarest color variety of this gem. It is pink topazs that are most often faked. In jewelry, cubic zirconia is widely used – an artificial material that imitates a diamond. Its growth occurs in laboratory conditions, where the crystal growth rate is up to 8-10 mm per hour.
Well-known red stars on the towers of the Moscow Kremlin are made of ruby glass. Depending on the shape of the diamond crystal, 55–70% of the weight is lost during its processing. If opals are stored in low humidity conditions, they may crack and become cloudy due to moisture loss. Therefore, jewelry and jewelry with opals should be worn as often as possible, since the gemstone can take the moisture it needs from the air or skin of the person who wears it. Diamonds can be burned by heating them to the required temperature. They will burn with a pale blue flame. The largest natural diamond ever found on our planet is the Cullinan Diamond. Before separation, its mass was 3106.75 carats (621.35 grams). In 1908, it was split into several large parts, of which 9 large and 96 small diamonds were eventually made.
Up to 95% of all emeralds mined on Earth have cracks and inclusions. Therefore, rare stones without defects and are so expensive. Diamond will gradually turn into graphite if it is placed in a vacuum or in an inert gas at elevated temperatures. Emerald has long been considered a stone protecting its owner from damage. Moreover, in Russia it was believed that he could fully manifest these properties only if he was enclosed in a gold frame. Antarctica is the only continent where so far no deposits of rubies have been discovered. The total value of the collection of jewelry with precious stones belonging to the English Queen Elizabeth II is estimated at 57 million dollars. Sapphires were very appreciated by Boris Godunov. He considered them magical, possessing many useful properties.
