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Gemstones of the World revised 5th edition, 2013 by Walter Schumann ISBN 978-1454909538 Smithsonian Handbook: Gemstones by Cally Hall, 2nd ed. 2002 ISBN 978-0789489852 hide
Sapphire (gem corundum of any color except red, especially blue varieties) Sard (a variety of chalcedony/quartz) Satinspar (a variety of gypsum) Selenite (a variety of gypsum) Simetite (a variety of amber) Smoky quartz (a brown or black variety of quartz) Soda niter (synonym of nitratine) Spectrolite (a variety of labradorite) Spessartite ...
The first characteristic a gemologist uses to identify a gemstone is its chemical composition. For example, diamonds are made of carbon (C) and rubies of aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3). Many gems are crystals which are classified by their crystal system such as cubic or trigonal or monoclinic.
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 ...
Jasper breaks with a smooth surface and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for items such as vases, seals, and snuff boxes. The density of jasper is typically 2.5 to 2.9 g/cm 3. [4] Jaspillite is a banded-iron-formation rock that often has distinctive bands of jasper.
Taaffeite (/ ˈ t ɑː f aɪ t /; BeMgAl 4 O 8) is a mineral, named after its discoverer Richard Taaffe (1898–1967) who found the first sample, a cut and polished gem, in October 1945 in a jeweler's shop in Dublin, Ireland. [4] [5] As such, it is the only gemstone to have
Celestine (the IMA-accepted name) [6] or celestite [1] [7] [a] is a mineral consisting of strontium sulfate (Sr S O 4).The mineral is named for its occasional delicate blue color. ...
Phenakite or phenacite is a fairly rare nesosilicate mineral consisting of beryllium orthosilicate, Be 2 Si O 4.Occasionally used as a gemstone, phenakite occurs as isolated crystals, which are rhombohedral with parallel-faced hemihedrism, and are either lenticular or prismatic in habit: the lenticular habit is determined by the development of faces of several obtuse rhombohedra and the ...