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The Old Norse term Hnoss has been translated in a variety of ways by scholars and folklorists. David Leeming and Christopher Fee in their joint book The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother [2] claim that Hnoss' name was drawn from the word for "gem," in which she is described as sparkling like a diamond.
Sapphire is one of the two gem-varieties of corundum, the other being ruby (defined as corundum in a shade of red). Although blue is the best-known sapphire color, it occurs in other colors, including gray and black, and also can be colorless. A pinkish orange variety of sapphire is called padparadscha.
The Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) is a 50/50 joint venture between the Republic of Namibia and the DTC; the mining and sorting arm of De Beers.Namibia is a known source for gem quality diamonds and is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa. [1]
Diamond's great hardness relative to other materials has been known since antiquity, and is the source of its name. This does not mean that it is infinitely hard, indestructible, or unscratchable. [24] Indeed, diamonds can be scratched by other diamonds [25] and worn down over time even by softer materials, such as vinyl phonograph records. [26]
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 ...
Other names for green quartz are vermarine and lime citrine. Amethyst frequently shows color zoning, with the most intense color typically found at the crystal terminations. One of gem cutters' tasks is to make a finished product with even color. Sometimes, only a thin layer of a natural, uncut amethyst is violet colored, or the color is very ...
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Originating from the Persian word for the gem, lāžward, [1] lapis lazuli is a rock composed primarily of the minerals lazurite, pyrite and calcite. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, [2] in Shortugai, and in other mines in Badakhshan province in modern northeast Afghanistan. [3]