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The traditional classification in the West, which goes back to the ancient Greeks, begins with a distinction between precious and semi-precious; similar distinctions are made in other cultures. In modern use, the precious stones are emerald, ruby, sapphire and diamond, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. [9]
In popular culture, sets of precious substances may form hierarchies which express conventional perceived relative value or merit. Precious metals appear prominently in such hierarchies , but as they grow, gems and semi-precious materials may be introduced as part of the system.
This is a list of gemstones, organized by species and types. Minerals. There are over 300 types of minerals that have been used as gemstones. Such as: A–B
Sapphires are a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide (α-Al 2 O 3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper, or magnesium. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors.
Peridot is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one color: an olive-green. The intensity and tint of the green, however, depends on the percentage of iron in the crystal structure, so the color of individual peridot gems can vary from yellow, to olive, to brownish-green. In rare cases, peridot may have a medium-dark toned, pure green ...
In 1986, California named benitoite as its state gemstone, a form of the mineral barium titanium silicate that is unique to the Golden State and only found in gem quality in San Benito County. [ 80 ] ^ Colorado is the only state whose geological symbols reflect the national flag's colors: red (rhodochrosite), white (yule marble), and blue ...
Lapis lazuli (UK: / ˌ l æ p ɪ s ˈ l æ z (j) ʊ l i, ˈ l æ ʒ ʊ-,-ˌ l i /; US: / ˈ l æ z (j) ə l i, ˈ l æ ʒ ə-,-ˌ l i /), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
Another reference to a gem by the name of khalkedón (χαλκηδών) is found in the Book of Revelation (21:19); however, it is a hapax legomenon, found nowhere else in the Bible, so it is hard to tell whether the precious gem mentioned in Revelation is the same as the mineral known by this name today. [7]