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.
Category: Ooh . . . Shiny!
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
Guest Video: How to Carve A Gem
Here is more information on carnelian, which is very close to chalcedony. Featured image: Source, public domain. (Thank you, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Wikipedia!)
Guest Video: A Kentucky Legend
After that, do you really want to know what the Kentucky Geological Survey has to say about gold and silver in this US state? Featured
