A Short History of Emeralds
The emerald is the chromium-containing variety of the mineral beryl [Ref 1]. Its’ beautiful, vibrant, deep green color has made it a great favorite among those that create beautiful jewelry […]
Star Sapphires & Rubies
The star gemstones of the corundum family are either star sapphires or rubies. Under light these gemstones exhibit asterism [Ref 1] in showing either a six rayed or twelve rayed star. The starred […]
Diamonds IV
Lattice Defects, Impurities and Color As stated in references 17, 18 of my DIAMONDS II blog, impurity atoms and lattice vacancy defects are responsible for the coloration of diamonds [Ref […]
Diamonds III
A Gallery of Natural Diamond Crystals The gallery includes clear crystals and those exhibiting a range of colors (Figures 2-13), a range of shapes (Figures 2-15), examples of inclusions found […]
Diamonds II
In this blog, my second on diamonds, I’ll discuss the physical and chemical properties of a diamond, then its optical properties in relation to its crystal structure and chemistry, and […]
Diamonds I
Having greatly enjoyed writing my last blogs on garnets as gemstones and mineral specimens, topics different from my long-time interests in the ore-forming minerals, I am starting a series of […]
Fluorite Art Works & Jewelry
Artworks and jewelry have been created from fluorite since ancient times, such as the carved fluorite statues discovered in Crittenden County, Kentucky and shown in Figure 1 [Ref 1]. The […]
Fluorite, A Collectors Favorite
The rich, often “electric” rainbow colors of fluorite specimens from world-wide locations, the frequent appearance of different colors within regions, bound with the lattice planes within a crystal, and the […]
Fluorite, A Gallery of Specimens
I’ve assembled a gallery of 15 fluorite specimens from some of the locations around the world which are favored by collectors.
An Unusual Quartz Crystal
While at the Flagstaff Gem, Mineral & Jewelry show this past August, my fellow Coconino Lapidary Club member and collector friend, Gordon, and I spotted an unusual appearing polished quartz […]