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
Tag: gemstones
Metamorphic Gem: Garnet
Update, August 12, 2018: Thai food is delicious–why do these little endoliths feel they need to chow down on garnets? Mantle gems include diamonds and
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: 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.
