This post (with a couple of updates at the end) is from 2018. Mantle gems include diamonds and peridots. These form under intense heat and
Category: Ooh . . . Shiny!
Repost: Guest Video: Mining Zircons in Cambodia
Watch as red zircons are dug out of the soil in Ratanakiri, Cambodia, and turned into sky-blue gemstones by heat treatment in somebody’s back-yard mini-furnace.
Repost: Zabargad: Island of Green Stones
What do former Russian royals and the Red Sea have in common?
Gems, of course–in particular, one famous peridot plus a few smaller ones. All of these stones came from Zabargad Island in the Red Sea.
What is natural ruby?
This post, based on something I wrote for Helium back in 2011, was first blogged here in 2013. However, it’s a natural tie-in to yesterday’s
Guest Videos: Aquamarine
Aquamarine is a beryllium mineral like bertrandite or beryl, but its chemical formula is slightly different. Who would suspect that the addition of a little
Guest Video: Natural vs. Imitation New Mexican Turquoise
Turquoise made headlines recently when researchers discovered that Mesoamericans had more than one source for this gem that they valued highly. Not all of it
