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Gems, Jewelry & Astrology:

A gemstone, also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone, is a piece of mineral crystal which, is used to make jewelry or other adornments in cut and polished form.

Certain rocks such as lapis lazuli, opal, and obsidian and occasionally organic materials that are not minerals such as amber, jet, and pearl are considered as gemstones as they are used for jewelry. Although most gemstones that are used in jewelry are hard, some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic valued. Some major luxury art forms of gems are antiquity engraved gems and hard stone carvings, such as cups, apart from jewelry.

Characteristics and Classification of Gems:

Precious and semi-precious are the traditional classification in the West. The precious stones are emerald, ruby, sapphire and diamond, whereas all other gemstones are semi-precious. All gemstones are generally translucent with fine color in their purest forms, except for diamond, which is colorless and very hard, with hardness of 8 to 10 on the Mohs scale. Other stones are classified by their translucency, color, and hardness.

Hard stone is another traditional term for semi-precious gemstones used in art history and archaeology. Gemstones are generally identified by gemologists, who describe gems and their characteristics by using technical terminology specific to the field of gemology. The chemical composition of a gemstone is the first characteristic that is used by a gemologist to identify it. For example, diamonds are made of carbon and rubies of aluminium oxide. Gems those are crystals are classified by their crystal system such as cubic or trigonal or monoclinic.

Gemstones are classified into different species, groups, and varieties. For example, the red variety of the species corundum is ruby, while any other color of corundum is considered as sapphire. The emerald (green), red beryl (red), goshenite (colorless), aquamarine (blue), heliodor (yellow), and morganite (pink), are all varieties of the mineral species beryl.

Gems are characterized by their hardness, refractive index, dispersion, specific gravity, cleavage, fracture and luster. They may have pleochroism or double refraction as well as luminescence and a distinctive absorption spectrum.

Gemstones may also be classified in terms of their water which is a recognized grading of luster, transparency, or brilliance of the gem. First water is very transparent gems, while second or third water gems are those of a lesser transparency.

Value of Gems:

• There is no universally accepted grading system for gems.
• Diamonds are generally graded by using a system developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in the early 1950s
• The introduction of 10x magnification is introduced as the standard for grading clarity by the GIA system
• Other gemstones are still graded using the naked eye by assuming 20/20 vision
• The 'four Cs' (color, cut, clarity, and carats), has been introduced by a mnemonic device, to help describe the factors used to grade a diamond
• These categories can be useful in understanding the grading of all gemstones with modification.
• Different weights are carried by the four criteria depending upon whether they are applied to colored gemstones or to colorless diamonds
• The cut is the primary determinant of value, followed by clarity and color in diamonds
• The ideal cut diamond will sparkle, dispersion, scintillation, and brilliance.
• A diamond will do none of these things in its rough crystalline form as it requires proper fashioning which is called cut
• The purity, and beauty of the color of a gemstone is the primary determinant of quality in those gems that have color, including colored diamonds
• Color, clarity to a lesser extent, cut, unusual optical phenomena within the stone such as color zoning (the uneven distribution of coloring within a gem) and asteria (star effects) are some physical characteristics that make a colored stone valuable.
• Diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald, and opal are also been considered to be precious.
• Although, pearl is not a gemstone, it is considered to be precious.
• Certain stones such as aquamarine, peridot and cat's eye (cymophane) are some popular gems and are regarded as precious.
• Although diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds still exceeds the reputation those of other gemstones, many gemstones are used in even the most expensive jewelry, depending on the brand-name of the designer, fashion trends, market supply, treatments, etc.
• Andalusite, axinite, cassiterite, clinohumite and red beryl are some of the rare or unusual gemstones, which occur so infrequently in gem quality
• The factors and characteristics in the quality of the stone governs Gemstone pricing and value.
• clarity, freedom from defects, rarity, the beauty of the stone, as well as the demand for such stones are the characteristics that are considered.
• Different pricing influencers are there for both colored gemstones, and for diamonds
• The pricing on colored stones is usually determined by market supply-and-demand,
• However, diamonds are more intricate as the value of diamond can change based on location, time, and on the evaluations of diamond vendors

Cutting and Polishing of Gems:

• Gemstones can be used as gems in the crystal or other forms in which they are found.
• However, they are usually are cut and polished for usage as jewelry
• Stones those are cut as smooth, dome-shaped stones called cabochons, and stones which are cut with a faceting machine by polishing small flat windows called facets at regular intervals at exact angles.
• Stones which are opaque or semi-opaque such as opal, turquoise, variscite, etc. are mostly cut as cabochons.
• These gems are designed to show the color or surface properties of the stone, as in opal and star sapphires
• Grinding wheels and polishing agents are generally used to grind, shape and polish the smooth dome shape of the stones
• Gems that are transparent are usually faceted, which is a method in which the optical properties of the stone's interior is shown to its best advantage by maximizing reflected light which is perceived by the viewer as sparkle.
• Many commonly used shapes for faceted stones are there.
• The facets must be cut at the proper angles, which may differ depending on the optical properties of the gem.
• The light will pass through and not be reflected toward the viewer if the angles are too steep or too shallow
• The stone is hold onto a flat lap by the faceting machine for cutting and polishing the flat facets
• Special curved laps are rarely used by some cutters to cut and polish curved facets.

Treatment of Gems:

Gemstones can be treated to enhance the color or clarity of the stone
They can affect the value of the stone depending on the type and extent of treatment.
Treatments are mostly used on gems those are stable, while these are not accepted by few gems most commonly because the gem color is unstable and may revert to the original tone

Heat:

The color or clarity of gemstone can be either improved or spoiled by applying heat. Most citrine is made by heating amethyst, and it results in 'ametrine' by partial heating with a strong gradient, which is a stone partly amethyst and partly citrine. Aquamarine is usually heated to remove yellow tones, or enhance its existing blue color to a deeper blue or to change green colors into the more desirable blue. All tanzanite is heated at low temperatures to remove brown undertones and give a more desirable blue or purple color. A variety of heat treatments are used for considerable portion of all sapphire and ruby, to improve both color and clarity.

The diamond should be protected with boric acid when jewelry containing diamonds is heated for repairs, as the diamond, which is pure carbon, could be burned on the surface or even burned completely up. Sapphires or rubies stones should not be coated with boric acid (which can etch the surface) or any other substance when jewelry containing these stones is heated. Although the stones do need to be protected from heat stress fracture, they do not have to be protected from burning, like a diamond. This can be achieved by immersing the part of the jewelry with stones in the water when metal parts are heated.

Radiation:

Almost all blue topaz, both the lighter and the darker blue shades such as 'London' blue, are irradiated to change the color from white to blue. The yellow-green color can be achieved by irradiating most greened quartz (Oro Verde). Fancy-color diamonds can be produced by irradiating diamonds which can occur naturally, though rarely in gem quality.

Waxing/oiling:

Emeralds that contain natural fissures are sometimes filled with wax or oil to disguise them. This wax or oil is also colored to make better color as well as clarity of the emerald. Turquoise is also treated similarly.

Fracture filling:

Fracture filling is generally used with different gemstones such as diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. Rubies over 10 carats (2 g) with large fractures are filled with lead glass for improving the appearance.

Synthetic and Artificial Gemstones:

• Synthetic gemstones are different from imitation or simulated gems.
• Synthetic gems are physically, chemically and optically identical to the natural stone, but are created in a laboratory
• Although, imitation or simulated stones are chemically different from the natural stone, but may appear quite similar to it
• Synthetic gemstones of a different mineral (spinel), glass, plastic, resins, or other compounds can be more easily manufactured.
• Cubic zirconia, composed of zirconium oxide, synthetic moissanite, and uncolored, synthetic corundum or spinels are examples of simulated or imitation stones; all of which are diamond simulants.
• The simulants neither posses their chemical nor physical characteristics, but imitate the look and color of the real stone but possess
• Cultured, synthetic, or gemstones that are created in lab are not imitations.
• However, the bulk mineral and trace coloring elements are the same in both
• For example, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds that are manufactured in labs possess chemical and physical characteristics identical to the naturally occurring variety.
• Synthetic corundum, including ruby and sapphire, is very common and less expensive than the natural stones.
• Although larger gem-quality synthetic diamonds are available in multiple carats, small synthetic diamonds have been manufactured in large quantities as industrial abrasives.
• The chemical, physical, and optical characteristics are the same in both natural stone or synthetic one
• Synthetic gemstones are composed of the same mineral and are colored by the same trace materials.
• They have the same hardness and density and strength, and show the same color spectrum, refractive index, and birefringence, if any.
• Stones those are created in lab tend to have a more vivid color since the impurities commonly found in natural stones are not present in the synthetic stone
• Common naturally occurring impurities that reduce gem clarity or color are not added in Synthetic gemstones, unless intentionally added in order to provide a more drab, natural appearance, or to deceive an assayer.

Difference Between Astrological Gemstones and Ornamental Gemstones:

There is a stark difference between an ornamental gemstone and an astrological gemstone. Ornamental gemstones can be used in jewelry, in decorative pieces or just as a collector's item such as high-end watches, fine leather bags and bespoke designer wear. The outer appearance of a gemstone is the most important factor that people consider while choosing gemstones for any ornamental purpose

Astrological gemstones are generally worn by people to remove obstacles in their life, tide over problems and emerge triumphant with a feeling of contentment. Prosperity, fortune, success, growth, happiness, fulfillment, wellness, sound mind and good health can be provided by Astrological gemstones. Astrological gemstones are chosen by people based on their birth chart or zodiac signs as each gemstone has a unique meaning and significance.

Astrological gemstones should be completely pure and natural as well as must be untreated, unheated and not glass-filled. Treated stones can be used for ornamental purposes but it does not have significance in astrology as treated stones lose their natural properties and acquire the properties of an artificial stone. Low quality stones are usually treated to enhance their appearance, hide their flaws and get better value in the market.