We’ve all seen the basic list of birthstones, but what are they really and what do they mean? This video tries to answer both those
Tag: gemstones
Metamorphic Gem: Garnet
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
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.
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: 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.
