Choosing a Gem

7/31/2019 Choosing a Gem

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Choosing a Gem

A gemstone is the naturally occurring crystalline form of a mineral, which is desirable for itsbeauty, valuable in its rarity and durable enough to be enjoyed for generations.

There are more than 40 popular gem varieties and many more rare collector gemstones.Although some gemstone varieties have been treasured since before history began and otherswere only discovered recently, they are all nature's gifts to us.

Please enjoy surfing through our Gem by Gem list of the world's most fascinating gemstonevarieties.

Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have the most beautiful, most intense andmost radiant green that can possibly be imagined: emerald green. Inclusions aretolerated. In top quality, fine emeralds are even more valuable than diamonds.

The name emerald comes from the Greek 'smaragdos' via the Old French 'esmeralde',and really just means 'green gemstone'. Innumerable fantastic stories have grown uparound this magnificent gem. The Incas and Aztecs of South America, where the best

emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a holy gemstone. However,probably the oldest known finds were once made near the Red Sea in Egypt. Havingsaid that, these gemstone mines, already exploited by Egyptian pharaohs between3000 and 1500 B.C. and later referred to as 'Cleopatra's Mines', had already beenexhausted by the time they were rediscovered in the early 19th century.

Written many centuries ago, the Vedas, the holy scriptures of the Indians, say of theprecious green gems and their healing properties: 'Emeralds promise good luck ...'; and
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'The emerald enhances the well-being ...'. So it was no wonder that the treasure chestsof Indian maharajas and maharanis contained wonderful emeralds. One of the world's

largest is the so-called 'Mogul Emerald'. It dates from 1695, weighs217.80 carats, and is some 10cm tall. One side of it is inscribed with prayer texts, andengraved on the other there are magnificent floral ornaments. This legendary emeraldwas auctioned by Christie's of London to an unidentified buyer for 2.2m US Dollars onSeptember 28th 2001.

Emeralds have been held in high esteem since ancient times. For that reason, some ofthe most famous emeralds are to be seen in museums and collections. The New YorkMuseum of Natural History, for example, has an exhibit in which a cup made of pureemerald which belonged to the Emperor Jehangir is shown next to the 'Patricia', one ofthe largest Colombian emerald crystals, which weighs 632 carats. The collection of theBank of Bogota includes five valuable emerald crystals with weights of between 220 and1796 carats, and splendid emeralds also form part of the Iranian National Treasury,adorning, for example, the diadem of the former Empress Farah. The Turkish sultansalso loved emeralds. In Istanbul's Topkapi Palace there are exhibits with items of

jewellery, writing-implements and daggers, each lavishly adorned with emeralds andother gems.

The green of life and of love

The green of the emerald is the colour of life and of the springtime, which comes roundagain and again. But it has also, for centuries, been the colour of beauty and of constantlove. In ancient Rome, green was the colour of Venus, the goddess of beauty and love.And today, this colour still occupies a special position in many cultures and religions.Green, for example, is the holy colour of Islam. Many of the states of the Arab Leaguehave green in their flags as a symbol of the unity of their faith. Yet this colour has a highstatus in the Catholic Church too, where green is regarded as the most natural and themost elemental of the liturgical colours.

The magnificent green of the emerald is a colour which conveys harmony, love ofNature and elemental joie de vivre. The human eye can never see enough of thisunique colour. Pliny commented that green gladdened the eye without tiring it. Green isperceived as fresh and vivid, never as monotonous. And in view of the fact that thiscolour always changes somewhat between the bright light of day and the artificial lightof a lamp, emerald green retains its lively vigour in all its nuances.

Fingerprints of nature


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The lively luminosity of its colour makes the emerald a uniquegemstone. However, really good quality is fairly rare, with inclusions often marring theevenness of the colour signs of the turbulent genesis which has characterised thisgemstone. Fine inclusions, however, do not by any means diminish the high regard inwhich it is held. On the contrary: even with inclusions, an emerald in a deep, lively greenstill has a much higher value than an almost flawless emerald whose colour is paler.Affectionately, and rather poetically, the specialists call the numerous crystal inclusions,cracks or fissures which are typical of this gemstone 'jardin'. They regard the tender littlegreen plants in the emerald garden as features of the identity of a gem which has grownnaturally.

So where do they come from and how is it that they exist at all? In order to answerthese questions, we need to look far, far back into the time of the emerald's origin.Emeralds from Zimbabwe are among the oldest gemstones anywhere in the world.They were already growing 2600 million years ago, whilst some specimens fromPakistan, for example, are a mere 9 million years young. From a chemical-mineralogicalpoint of view, emeralds are beryllium-aluminium-silicates with a good hardness of 7.5 to8, and belong, like the light blue aquamarine, the tender pink morganite, the goldenheliodor and the pale green beryl, to the large gemstone family of the beryls. Pure berylis colourless. The colours do not occur until traces of some other element are added. Inthe case of the emerald, it is mainly traces of chromium and vanadium which areresponsible for the fascinating colour. Normally, these elements are concentrated inquite different parts of the Earth's crust to beryllium, so the emerald should, strictlyspeaking, perhaps not exist at all. But during intensive tectonic processes such asorogenesis, metamorphism, emergences and erosion of the land, these contrastingelements found each other and crystallised out to make one of our most beautifulgemstones. The tension involved in the geological conditions conducive to the aboveprocesses produced some minor flaws, and some major ones. A glance through themagnifying-glass or microscope into the interior of an emerald tells us something aboutthe eventful genesis of this unique gem: here we see small or large fissures; here thesparkle of a mini-crystal or a small bubble; here shapes of all kinds. While the crystalswere still growing, some of these manifestations had the chance to 'heal', and thus the

jagged three-phase inclusions typical of Colombian emeralds were formed: cavitiesfilled with fluid, which often also contain a small bubble of gas and some tiny crystals.

Logically enough, a genesis as turbulent as that of the emerald impedes theundisturbed formation of large, flawless crystals. For this reason, it is only seldom that alarge emerald with good colour and good transparency is found. That is why fineemeralds are so valuable. But for the very reason that the emerald has such a stormy


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past, it is surely entitled to show it - that is, as long as only a fine jardin is to be seen,and not a rank garden which spoils both colour and transparency.

The world of fine emeralds

Colombia continues to be at the top of the list in terms of the countries in which fineemeralds are found. It has about 150 known deposits, though not all of these arecurrently being exploited. The best known names are Muzo and Chivor, where emeraldswere mined by the Incas in pre-Columbian times. In economic terms, the most importantmine is at Coscuez, where some 60 faces are being worked. According to estimates,approximately three quarters of Colombia's emerald production now comes from theCoscuez Mine. Colombian emeralds differ from emeralds from other deposits in thatthey have an especially fine, shining emerald green unimpaired by any kind of bluishtint. The colour may vary slightly from find to find. This fascinatingly beautiful colour isso highly esteemed in the international emerald trade that even obvious inclusions areregarded as acceptable. But Colombia has yet more to offer: now and then the

Colombian emerald mines throw up rarities such as Trapiche emeralds with their sixrays emanating from the centre which resemble the spokes of a millwheel.

Even if many of the best emeralds are undisputedly of Colombian origin, the 'birthplace'of a stone is never an absolute guarantee of its immaculate quality. Fine emeralds arealso found in other countries, such as Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Madagascar,Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Russia. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Brazil in particular

have a good reputation for fine emeralds in the international trade.Excellent emerald crystals in a beautiful, deep emerald green and with goodtransparency come from Zambia. Their colour is mostly darker than that of Colombianemeralds and often has a fine, slightly bluish undertone. Emeralds which are mostlysmaller, but very fine, in a vivacious, intense green come from Zimbabwe's famousSandawana Mine, and they often have a delicate yellowish-green nuance. And thefamous emerald mines of Colombia currently face competition from right next door:Brazil's gemstone mine Nova Era also produces emeralds in beautiful green tones, andif they are less attractive than those of their famous neighbour it is only by a smallmargin. Brazil also supplies rare emerald cat's eyes and extremely rare emeralds with asix-spoked star. Thanks to the finds in Africa and Brazil, there are more emeralds on themarket now than there used to be - to the delight of emerald enthusiasts - .

A sophisticated gemstone

Whilst its good hardness protects the emerald to a large extent from scratches, its


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brittleness and its many fissures can make cutting, setting and cleaning rather difficult.Even for a skilled gem cutter, cutting emeralds presents a special challenge, firstlybecause of the high value of the raw crystals, and secondly because of the frequentinclusions. However, this does not detract from the cutters' love of this unique gem.Indeed, they have developed a special cut just for this gem: the emerald cut. The clear

design of this rectangular or square cut with its bevelled corners brings out the beauty ofthis valuable gemstone to the full, at the same time protecting it from mechanical strain.

Emeralds are also cut in many other, mainly classical shapes, but if the raw materialcontains a large number of inclusions, it may often be cut into a gently roundedcabochon, or into one of the emerald beads which are so popular in India.

Today, many emeralds are enhanced with colourless oils or resins. This is a generaltrade practice, but it does have the consequence that these green treasures react verysensitively to inappropriate treatment. For example, they cannot be cleaned in anultrasonic bath. The substances that may have been used by the cutter during his work,

or applied subsequently, seal the fine pores in the surface of the gem. Removing themwill end up giving the stone a matt appearance. For this reason, emerald rings shouldalways be taken off before the wearer puts his or her hands in water containingcleansing agent.

A matter of trust

Unfortunately, because the emerald is not only one of the most beautiful gemstones, butalso one of the most valuable, there are innumerable synthetics and imitations. So howcan you protect yourself from these 'fakes'? Well, the best way is to buy from aspecialist in whom you have confidence. Large emeralds in particular should only be

purchased with a report from a reputable gemmological institute. Such an institute willbe able, thanks to the most modern examination techniques, to differentiate reliablybetween natural and synthetic emeralds, and will inform you as to whether the stonehas undergone any treatment of the kind a purchaser has the right to know about.

And one more piece of advice on the purchase of an emerald: whilst diamondsgenerously scintillate their fire in sizes below 1 carat, you should go for largerdimensions when acquiring a coloured gemstone. True, there are some lovely pieces of

jewellery with small coloured gems to set decorative accents, but emeralds, like othercoloured gemstones, do not really begin to show that beautiful glow below a certainsize. How large 'your' emerald ends up will depend on your personal taste, and on your

budget. Really large specimens of top quality are rare. This means that the price of atop-quality emerald may be higher than that of a diamond of the same weight. Thefascination exuded by a fine emerald is simply unique.


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Ruby

Which colour would youspontaneously associate with love and vivacity, passion and power? It's obvious, isn'tit? Red. Red is the colour of love. It radiates warmth and a strong sense of vitality. Andred is also the colour of the ruby, the king of the gemstones. In the fascinating world ofgemstones, the ruby is the undisputed ruler.

For thousands of years, the ruby has been considered one of the most valuablegemstones on Earth. It has everything a precious stone should have: magnificentcolour, excellent hardness and outstanding brilliance. In addition to that, it is an

extremely rare gemstone, especially in its finer qualities.

For a long time India was regarded as the ruby's classical country oforigin. In the major works of Indian literature, a rich store of knowledge aboutgemstones has been handed down over a period of more than two thousand years. Theterm 'corundum', which we use today, is derived from the Sanskrit word 'kuruvinda'. TheSanskrit word for ruby is 'ratnaraj', which means something like 'king of the gemstones'.And it was a royal welcome indeed which used to be prepared for it. Whenever aparticularly beautiful ruby crystal was found, the ruler sent high dignitaries out to meetthe precious gemstone and welcome it in appropriate style. Today, rubies still decoratethe insignia of many royal households. But are they really all genuine rubies? Read onto find out more!
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Only a little bit of chrome ...

Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, one of the hardest minerals on Earth,of which the sapphire is also a variety. Pure corundum is colourless. Slight traces of

elements such as chrome, iron, titanium or vanadium are responsible for the colour.These gemstones have excellent hardness. On the Mohs scale their score of 9 issecond only to that of the diamond. Only red corundum is entitled to be called ruby, allother colours being classified as sapphires. The close relationship between the rubyand the sapphire has only been known since the beginning of the 19th century. Up tothat time, red garnets or spinels were also thought to be rubies. (That, indeed, is whythe 'Black Ruby' and the 'Timur Ruby', two of the British Crown Jewels, were so named,

when they are not actually rubies at all, but spinels.)

Ruby, this magnificent red variety from the multi-coloured corundum family, consists ofaluminium oxide and chrome as well as very fine traces of other elements - dependingon which deposit it was from. In really fine colours and good clarity, however, thisgemstone occurs only very rarely in the world's mines. Somewhat paradoxically, it isactually the colouring element chrome which is responsible for this scarcity. Trueenough, millions of years ago, when the gemstones were being created deep inside thecore of the Earth, chrome was the element which gave the ruby its wonderful colour. Butat the same time it was also responsible for causing a multitude of fissures and cracksinside the crystals. Thus only very few ruby crystals were given the good conditions inwhich they could grow undisturbed to considerable sizes and crystallise to form perfectgemstones. For this reason, rubies of more than 3 carats in size are very rare. So it isno wonder that rubies with hardly any inclusions are so valuable that in good coloursand larger sizes they achieve top prices at auctions, surpassing even those paid fordiamonds in the same category.

Some rubies display a wonderful silky shine, the so-called 'silk' of the ruby. Thisphenomenon is caused by very fine needles of rutile. And now and then one of the rarestar rubies is found. Here too, the mineral rutile is involved: having formed a star-shaped deposit within the ruby, it causes a captivating light effect known by the expertsas asterism. If rubies of this kind are cut as half-dome shaped cabochons, the result is asix-spoked star which seems to glide magically across the surface of the stone whenthe latter is moved. Star rubies are precious rarities. Their value depends on the beautyand attractiveness of the colour and, though only to a lesser extent, on theirtransparency. Fine star rubies, however, should always display rays which are fullyformed all the way to the imaginary horizontal line which runs through the middle of thestone, and the star itself should be situated right in the centre.


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Ruby-red means passion

Red for ruby. Ruby-red. The most important thing about this precious stone is its colour.It was not for no reason that the name 'ruby' was derived from the Latin word 'rubens',meaning 'red'. The red of the ruby is incomparable: warm and fiery. Two magical

elements are associated with the symbolism of

this colour: fire and blood, implying warmth and life for mankind. So ruby-red is not justany old colour, no, it is absolutely undiluted, hot, passionate, powerful colour. Like noother gemstone, the ruby is the perfect way to express powerful feelings. Instead ofsymbolising a calm, controlled affection, a ring set with a precious ruby bears witness tothat passionate, unbridled love that people can feel for each other.

Birthplaces of fine rubies

Which is the most beautiful ruby-red? Good question. The red of a ruby may involvevery different nuances depending on its origin. The range of those nuances is quitewide, and could perhaps be compared to hotel categories, from luxury accommodation

down to a plain inn or hostel. For example, if the gemstone experts refer to a 'Burmeseruby', they are talking about the top luxury category. However, it does not necessarilyfollow that the stone is of Burmese origin. It is basically an indication of the fact that thecolour of the ruby in question is that typically shown by stones from the famous depositsin Burma (now Myanmar): a rich, full red with a slightly bluish hue. The colour issometimes referred to as 'pigeon-blood-red', but the term 'Burmese colour' is a morefitting description. A connoisseur will immediately associate this colour with thelegendary 'Mogok Stone Tract' and the gemstone centre of Mogok in the North ofMyanmar. Here, the country's famous ruby deposits lie in a mountain valley surroundedby high peaks. Painstakingly, gemstones of an irresistible luminosity are brought to lightin the 'valley of the rubies'. Unfortunately, really fine qualities are quite rare even here.

The colour of a Burmese ruby is regarded as exceptionally vivid. It


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is said to display its unique brilliance in any light, be it natural or artificial.

The journey to the world's most important ruby deposits takes us further on to the smalltown of Mong Hsu in the North-East of Myanmar, where the most important rubydeposits of the nineties lie. Originally, it was believed that these rubies would hardly

prove suitable for use in jewellery, since untreated Mong Hsu ruby crystals actuallydisplay two colours: a purple to black core and a bright red periphery. Only when it hadbeen discovered that the dark core could be turned into deep red by means of heattreatment did rubies from Mong Hsu begin to find their way on to the jewellery market.Today, the Mong Hsu gemstone mines are still among the most important rubysuppliers. In the main, they offer heat-treated rubies in commercial qualities and sizesbetween 0.5 and 3 carats.

Ruby deposits also exist in neighbouring Vietnam, near the Chinese border. Rubies ofVietnamese origin generally display a slightly purplish hue. Rubies from Thailand,another classical supplier, however, often have a darker red which tends towards

brown. This 'Siamese colour' - an elegantly muted deep red - is considered second inbeauty only to the Burmese colour, and is especially popular in the USA. Ceylon rubies,which have now become very rare, are mainly light red, like ripe raspberries.

Other ruby deposits are located in Northern Pakistan in the Hunza Valley, Kashmir,Tadzhikistan, Laos, Nepal, and Afghanistan. But rubies are also produced in India,where deposits with relatively large crystals were discovered in the federal states ofMysore and Orissa. These crystals have many inclusions, but they are, nevertheless,eminently suited to being cut as beads or cabochons.

Lately, people have begun to talk about East Africa as a source of rubies. Straight aftertheir discovery in the 1960s, rubies from Kenya and Tanzania surprised the experts bytheir beautiful, strong colour, which may vary from light to dark red. But in the Africanmines too, fine and clear rubies of good colour, purity and size are very rare. Usually thequalities mined are of a merely average quality.


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Sapphire

In earlier times, some people believed that the firmament was an enormous bluesapphire in which the Earth was embedded. Could there be a more apt image todescribe the beauty of an immaculate sapphire? And yet this gem comes not in one butin all the blue shades of that firmament, from the deep blue of the evening sky to theshining mid-blue of a lovely summer's day which casts its spell over us. However, thismagnificent gemstone also comes in many other colours: not only in the transparentgreyish-blue of a distant horizon but also in the gloriously colourful play of light in asunset in yellow, pink, orange and purple. Sapphires really are gems of the sky,although they are found in the hard ground of our 'blue planet'.

Blue is the main colour of the sapphire. Blue is also the favouritecolour of some 50 per cent of all people, men and women alike. We associate thiscolour, strongly linked to the sapphire as it is, with feelings of sympathy and harmony,friendship and loyalty: feelings which belong to qualities that prove their worth in thelong term feelings in which it is not so much effervescent passion that is to the fore,but rather composure, mutual understanding and indestructible trust. Thus the blue ofthe sapphire has become a colour which fits in with everything that is constant andreliable. That is one of the reasons why women in many countries wish for a sapphirering on their engagement. The sapphire symbolises loyalty, but at the same time it givesexpression to people's love and longing. Perhaps the most famous example of this blueis to be found in music, in George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". And the blue of the
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sapphire even appears where nothing at all counts except clear-sightedness andconcentrated mental effort. The first computer which succeeded in defeating a worldchess champion bore the remarkable name 'Deep Blue'.

What makes the sapphire so fancy?

Its beauty, its magnificent colours, its transparency, but also itsconstancy and durability are qualities associated with this gemstone by gemstone loversand specialists alike. (This does not only apply to the blue sapphire, but more of thatlater on). The sapphire belongs to the corundum group, the members of which arecharacterised by their excellent hardness (9 on the Mohs scale). Indeed their hardnessis exceeded only by that of the diamond and the diamond is the hardest mineral onEarth! Thanks to that hardness, sapphires are easy to look after, requiring no more thanthe usual care on the part of the wearer.

The gemstones in the corundum group consist of pure aluminium oxide whichcrystallised into wonderful gemstones a long time ago as a result of pressure and heatat a great depth. The presence of small amounts of other elements, especially iron andchrome, are responsible for the colouring, turning a crystal that was basically white intoa blue, red, yellow, pink or greenish sapphire. However, this does not mean that everycorundum is also a sapphire. For centuries there were differences of opinion among thespecialists as to which stones deserved to be called sapphires. Finally, it was agreedthat the ruby-red ones, coloured by chrome, should be called 'rubies' and all thosewhich were not ruby-red 'sapphires'.

If there is talk of the sapphire, most gemstone aficionados think immediately of a velvetyblue. It's a versatile colour that becomes many wearers. A blue sapphire fits in best witha well balanced lifestyle in which reliability and temperament run together and there isalways a readiness to encounter things new as with the woman who wears it. The factthat this magnificent gemstone also comes in a large number of other colours wasknown for a long time almost only to insiders. In the trade, sapphires which are not blueare referred to as 'fancies'. In order to make it easier to differentiate between them, theyare referred to not only by their gemstone name but also by a description of their colour.In other words, fancy sapphires are described as yellow, purple, pink, green or whitesapphires. Fancy sapphires are pure individualism and are just made for lovers ofindividualistic coloured stone jewellery. They are currently available in a positivelyenchanting variety of designs - as ring stones, necklace pendants or ear jewellery, assolitaires, strung elegantly together or as sparkling pave.

However, the sapphire has yet more surprises in store. For example there is an orangevariety with a fine pink undertone which bears the poetic name 'padparadscha', which


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means something like 'lotus flower'. The star sapphires are another rarity, half-dome-cutsapphires with a starlike light effect which seems to glide across the surface of thestone when it is moved. There are said to have been gemstone lovers who fell in lovewith these sapphire rarities for all time. And indeed the permanence of relationships isone of the features that are said to belong to this gemstone.

Top-quality sapphires are rare

Sapphires, call them gemstones of the sky though we may, lie well hidden in just a few

places, and first have to be brought to light through hard work.Sapphires are found in India, Burma, Ceylon, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil andAfrica. From the gemstone mines, the raw crystals are first taken to the cutting-centreswhere they are turned into sparkling gemstones by skilled hands. When cutting asapphire, indeed, the cutter has to muster all his skill, for these gemstones are not onlyhard. Depending on the angle from which you look at them they also have differentcolours and intensities of colour. So it is the job of the cutter to orientate the raw crystalsin such a way that the colour is brought out to its best advantage.

Depending on where they were found, the colour intensity and hue of the cut stonesvary, which means, later on, that the wearer is rather spoilt for choice. Should sheperhaps go for a mid-blue stone which will remind her even on rainy days of that shiningsummer sky? Or should she prefer a lighter blue because it will continue to sparklevivaciously when evening falls? The bright light of day makes most sapphires shinemore vividly than the more subdued artificial light of evening. So in fact it is not, as isoften claimed, the darkest tone that is the most coveted colour of the blue sapphire, butan intense, rich, full blue which still looks blue in poor artificial light.

Specialists and connoisseurs regard the Kashmir colour with its velvety shine as themost beautiful and most valuable blue. These magnificent gemstones from Kashmir,found in 1880 after a landslide at an altitude of 16,000 feet and mined intensively over aperiod of eight years, were to have a lasting influence on people's idea of the colour of afirst-class sapphire. Typical of the Kashmir colour is a pure, intense blue with a verysubtle violet undertone, which is intensified yet more by a fine, silky shine. It is said thatthis hue does not change in artificial light. But the Burmese colour is also regarded asparticularly valuable. It ranges from a rich, full royal blue to a deep cornflower blue.

The oldest sapphire finds are in Ceylon, or Sri Lanka as it is known today. There,people were already digging for gemstones in ancient times. The specialist recognisesCeylon sapphires by the luminosity of their light to mid-blue colours. Having said that,most blue sapphires come either from Australia or from Thailand.


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Their value depends on their size, colour and transparency. With stones of very finequality, these are, however, not the only main criteria, the origin of the gem also playinga major role. Neither is the colour itself necessarily a function of the geographical originof a sapphire, which explains the great differences in price between the various

qualities. The most valuable are genuine Kashmir stones. Burmese sapphires arevalued almost as highly, and then come the sapphires from Ceylon. The possibility ofthe gemstone's having undergone some treatment or other is also a factor indetermining the price, since gemstones which can be guaranteed untreated arebecoming more and more sought-after in this age of gemstone cosmetics. And if thestone selected then also happens to be a genuine, certificated Kashmir or Burmese, theprice will probably reflect the enthusiasm of the true gemstone lover.

It is not often that daring pioneers discover gemstones on a scale such as was the caseon Madagascar a few years ago, when a gemstone deposit covering an area of severalmiles was found in the south-east of the island. Since then, not only have there been

enough blue sapphires in the trade, but also some splendid pink and yellow sapphiresof great beauty and transparency. Meanwhile, experts in Tanzania have also foundinitial evidence of two large-scale gemstone deposits in the form of some good, if notvery large sapphire crystals coloured blue, green, yellow and orange. And the thirdcountry to register new finds recently was Brazil, where sapphires ranging from blue topurple and pink have been discovered. So lovers of the sapphire need not worry: therewill, in future, be enough of these 'heavenly' gems with the fine colour spectrum. Top-quality sapphires, however, remain extremely rare in all the gemstone mines of theworld.


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Aquamarine

From the light blue of the skyto the deep blue of the sea, aquamarines shine over an extraordinarily beautiful rangeof mainly light blue colours. Aquamarine is a fascinatingly beautiful gemstone. Womenthe world over love it for its fine blue shades which can complement almost any skin oreye colour, and creative gemstone designers are inspired by it as they are by hardly anyother gem, which enables them to create new artistic cuts again and again.

Its light blue arouses feelings of sympathy, trust, harmony and friendship. Goodfeelings. Feelings which are based on mutuality and which prove their worth in lasting

relationships. The blue of aquamarine is a divine, eternal colour, because it is the colourof the sky. However, aquamarine blue is also the colour of water with its life-givingforce. And aquamarine really does seem to have captured the lucid blue of the oceans.No wonder, when you consider that according to the saga it originated in the treasurechest of fabulous mermaids, and has, since ancient times, been regarded as the sailors'lucky stone. Its name is derived from the Latin 'aqua' (water) and 'mare' (sea). It is saidthat its strengths are developed to their best advantage when it is placed in water whichis bathed in sunlight. However, it is surely better still to wear aquamarine, sinceaccording to the old traditions this promises a happy marriage and is said to bring thewoman who wears it joy and wealth into the bargain. An ideal gem, not only for lovingand married couples.

A gemstone with many good qualities

Aquamarine is one of our most popular and best-known gemstones,and distinguishes itself by many good qualities. It is almost aspopular as the classics: ruby, sapphire and emerald. In fact it isrelated to the emerald, both belonging to the beryl family. Thecolour of aquamarine, however, is usually more even than that ofthe emerald. Much more often than its famous green cousin,
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aquamarine is almost entirely free of inclusions. Aquamarine has good hardness (7.5 to8 on the Mohs scale) and a wonderful shine. That hardness makes it very tough andprotects it to a large extent from scratches. Iron is the substance which givesaquamarine its colour, a colour which ranges from an almost indiscernible pale blue to astrong sea-blue. The more intense the colour of an aquamarine, the more value is put

on it. Some aquamarines have a light, greenish shimmer; that too is a typical feature.However, it is a pure, clear blue that continues to epitomise the aquamarine, because itbrings out so well the immaculate transparency and magnificent shine of this gemstone.

'Santa Maria' sets pulses racing

The bright blue of this noble beryl is making more and more friends.The various colour nuances of aquamarine have melodious names:the rare, intense blue aquamarines from the Santa Maria de Itabiramine in Brazil, which make every gemstone lover's heart beatfaster, are called 'Santa Maria'. Similar nuances come from a fewgemstone mines in Africa, particularly Mozambique. To helpdistinguish them from the Brazilian ones, these aquamarines havebeen given the name 'Santa Maria Africana'. The 'Espirito Santo'colour of aquamarines from the Brazilian state of that name is of a blue that is not quiteso intense. Yet other qualities are embodied in the stones from Fortaleza andMarambaia. One beautiful aquamarine colour was named after the Brazilian beautyqueen of 1954, and has the name 'Martha Rocha'.

It can be seen from the names of aquamarine colours just how important Brazil isamong the countries where aquamarine is found. Most of the raw crystals for the worldmarket come from the gemstone mines of that large South American country. Everynow and then, large aquamarine crystals of immaculate transparency are also found

with a magnificent colour, a combination which is very unusual in gemstones. And veryoccasionally, sensationally large aquamarine crystals come to light in Brazil, such as thecrystal of 110.5 Kg found in 1910 in Marambaia/Minas Gerais, or for example the 'DomPedro', weighing 26 Kg and cut in Idar-Oberstein in 1992 by the gemstone designerBernd Munsteiner, the largest aquamarine ever to have been cut. However,aquamarines are also found in other countries, for example Nigeria, Zambia,Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Favourite stone of modern designers

There is hardly any other gemstone in modern jewellery designwhich is refined in such a variety of ways as aquamarine. Whether it

is fashioned as a clear, transparent gem in the classical step cut, orcreatively cut in a more modern design, it is always fascinatinglybeautiful. Uncut too, or with many inclusions which can be broughtinto play by the designer in the way in which the stone is cut, it canbe refined to produce the most beautiful creations. Designers call ittheir favourite gemstone. Again and again they take the world bysurprise with a new, modern artistic cut, and when they arebreaking new ground, aquamarine is a gem that they particularly


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like to work with. Without doubt, these creative designer cuts have contributed to thegreat popularity of this gem. The lucid colour of aquamarine makes it easy to seeinclusions. For this reason, aquamarine should always be of the greatest possibletransparency. On the other hand, particularly charming effects can sometimes beachieved in the way the gemstone is cut by bringing the inclusions into play. The light

colour of aquamarine leaves the gemstone designer free to bring out the brilliance of thegem with fine grooves, notches, curves and edges. In this way, each aquamarinebecomes a unique specimen, whose magical attraction no woman can resist.


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Tourmaline

Tourmalines are gems with anincomparable variety of colours. The reason, according to an old Egyptian legend, isthat the tourmaline, on its long journey up from the centre of the Earth, passed over arainbow. In doing so, it assumed all the colours of the rainbow. And that is why it is stillreferred to as the 'gemstone of the rainbow' today.

The name tourmaline comes from the Singhalese words 'tura mali'. In translation, thismeans something like 'stone with mixed colours', referring to the colour spectrum of this

gemstone, which outdoes that of all other precious stones. Thereare tourmalines from red to green and from blue to yellow. Theyoften have two or more colours. There are tourmalines which

change their colour when the light changes from daylight to artificiallight, and some show the light effect of a cat's eye. No twotourmalines are exactly alike. This gemstone has an endlessnumber of faces, and for that reason it suits all moods. No wonderthat magical powers have been attributed to it since ancient times.In particular, it is the gemstone of love and of friendship, and is said

to render them firm and long-lasting.

Colours, names and nicknames

In order to understand this variety of colour, you will have to brush up your knowledge ofgemmology a little: tourmalines are mixed crystals of aluminium boron silicate with acomplex and changing composition. The mineral group is a fairly complex one. Evenslight changes in the composition cause completely different colours. Crystals of only asingle colour are fairly rare; indeed the same crystal will often display various coloursand various nuances of those colours. And the trademark of this gemstone is not onlyits great wealth of colour, but also its marked dichroism. Depending on the angle fromwhich you look at it, the colour may be different or more or less intense. It is always atits most intense when viewed looking toward the main axis, a fact to which the cuttermust pay great attention when lining up the cut. This gemstone has excellent wearing
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qualities and is easy to look after, for all tourmalines have a good hardness of 7 to 7.5on the Mohs scale. So the tourmaline is an interesting gemstone in many ways.

TIn the trade, the individual colour variants have their own names.For example, a tourmaline of an intense red is known as a 'rubellite',but only if it continues to display the same fine ruby red in artificiallight as it did in daylight. If the colour changes when the light sourcedoes, the stone is called a pink or shocking pink tourmaline. In thelanguage of the gemmologists, blue tourmalines are known as'indigolites', yellowish-brown to dark brown ones as 'dravites' andblack ones as 'schorl'. The last mentioned, mostly used forengravings and in esotericism, is said to have special powers with which people can beprotected from harmful radiation.

One particularly popular variety is the green Tourmaline, known as a 'verdelite' in thetrade. However, if its fine emerald-like green is caused by tiny traces of chrome, it isreferred to as a 'chrome tourmaline'. The absolute highlight among the tourmalines is

the 'Paraiba tourmaline', a gemstone of an intense blue to blue-green which was notdiscovered until 1987 in a mine in the Brazilian state of Paraiba. In good qualities, thesegemstones are much sought-after treasures today. Since tourmalines from Malawi witha vivid yellow colour, known as 'canary tourmalines', came into the trade, the colouryellow, which was previously very scarce indeed, has been very well represented in theendless spectrum of colours boasted by the 'gemstone of the rainbow'.

Yet the tourmaline has even more names: stones with two coloursare known as bicoloured tourmalines, and those with more than twoas multicoloured tourmalines. Slices showing a cross-section of thetourmaline crystal are also very popular because they display, in avery small area, the whole of the incomparable colour variety of thisgemstone. If the centre of the slice is red and the area around itgreen, the stone is given the nickname 'water melon'. On the otherhand, if the crystal is almost colourless and black at the ends only, it

is called a 'Mohrenkopf', (resembling a certain kind of cake popular in Germany).

Tourmalines are found almost all over the world. There are major deposits in Brazil, SriLanka and South and south-west Africa. Other finds have been made in Nigeria,Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Pakistan and Afghanistan.Tourmalines are also found in the USA, mainly in California and Maine. Although thereare plenty of gemstone deposits which contain tourmalines, good qualities and finecolours are not often discovered among them. For this reason, the price spectrum of thetourmaline is almost as broad as that of its colour.

The 'aschentrekker'

It is not only designers who love the tourmaline on account of itsinspiring variety of colour. Scientists too are interested in it becauseof its astonishing physical qualities, for tourmalines can becomeelectrically charged when they are heated and then allowed to cool.


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Then, they have a positive charge at one end and a negative one at the other. This isknown as 'pyro-electricity', derived from the Greek word 'pyr', meaning fire. Thegemstone also becomes charged under pressure, the polarity subsequently changingwhen the pressure is taken off. When the charge changes the tourmaline begins tooscillate, similar to a rock crystal but much more pronouncedly. The Dutch, who were

the first to bring the tourmaline to Europe, were familiar with this effect a long timebefore it was able to be provided with a scientific explanation. They used a heatedtourmaline to draw up the ash from their meerschaum pipes, and called the gemstonewith the amazing powers an 'aschentrekker'.

In the fascinating world of gemstones, the tourmaline is very special. Its high availabilityand its glorious, incomparable colour spectrum make it one of our most populargemstones - and apart from that, almost every tourmaline is unique.

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Choosing a Gem