Metamorphic Gem: Garnet
Update, August 12, 2018: Thai food is delicious–why do these little endoliths feel they need to chow down on garnets?Continue Reading
Category: Ooh . . . Shiny!
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.
Guest Video: What’s Cooking? Montana Sapphires!
We’ve looked before at how sapphires for. Now let’s check out Montana sapphires – North America’s biggest known deposit of gem-quality stones – and see how gemologists manage to get every bit of color they possibly can from each sapphire – even the green ones!
Guest Video: Peridot, A Mantle Gem
Diamonds aren’t the only mantle-associated gems. Most of the upper mantle is made out of peridotite, a combination of olivine and pyroxene. It is named after the very famous gemstone it contains–peridot.
Guest Video: Digging Up A Herkimer Diamond
Small Herkimer diamonds are usually the best ones, but it’s enormously satisfying to watch someone extract this huge, faceted crystal from the surrounding rock.
Guest Video: Fabergé
As Christie’s says, it’s not just about the eggs — Featured image: Fabergé egg, opsa at Pixabay. Public domain.
A List of the Top Five Diamonds
How would you choose the world’s top five diamonds? Here are the ones I think are the world’s best.
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.
Guest Video: Australian Opals
This beautiful GIA video captures the mystery, passion, and love of nature that draws opal hunters to Australia.
Why Qatari Royal Jewels Are Unique
A look at why the recent theft of some Qatari royal jewels in Venice was stupid.
