Need to know something about Gems/Jewelery?

Ask. I shall know.

Later,
T

ok

what makes ruby different from common stone stone

How many opals do you have to throw at Richard Simmons before he dies?

What's the best stone to get if you're low on money but want to look like you've spent millions?

If a diamond is the hardest stone, can a diamond cut a diamond?

I'll be back with more. :)

Avatar:

what makes ruby different from common stone stone

Be more specific. What do mean by a Common Stone stone?

BlueSoul:

How many opals do you have to throw at Richard Simmons before he dies

None. Just whip out a katana and cut his head off.


What's the best stone to get if you're low on money but want to look like you've spent millions?

Depends. Low on money? How Low? How much do you want to spend? But possibly an Imperial Topaz would do. But I really need more to work with.


If a diamond is the hardest stone, can a diamond cut a diamond?
The only thing that can cut a diamond, is a diamond. A diamond may be extremely hard, However, I could shatter one like a piece of cheap glass if I wanted to.



I'll be back with more.

Bring it on.....


Later
T

HEY!!! i just saw this thread, and, i don't know how i could have overlooked it before...

i am totally into gems and semi-precious stones...rocks, too. i have a lapidary (a Lortone tumbler) set-up here at my home. i am currently tumbling a rather small load (only 3 lbs. of stones that i found down by the quarry) of agates, quartzs' ..and seems like there will be some carnelian and moonstones in the batch as well (i can never quite tell until the very end, when they are all polished what they actually are, as, the beginning product ends up looking quite different from final polished stone.

Cool. If you have any questions, id be happy to help you out. I know a bit more about the semi-precious and precious stones faceted and used for jewelery by the way. Ok....


Later,
T:rolleyes:

well, i do have a question: i have been experimenting with my polishing compounds...and, i have been using Aluminum Oxide, and, also Cerrium Oxide. but, they are both doing only an OK job in the polishing department.. is there anything better than either of those polishing compounds that you might recommend?? i also polish pieces of glass that i found down by the river( yep..the mighty Mississippi ) and, i make wind-chimes out of them. they are usually pretty old pieces/shards washed up a-shore, some of them are the old cobalt blue and cranberry and depression glass colors...really neat.

None. Just whip out a katana and cut his head off.:D
Depends. Low on money? How Low? How much do you want to spend? But possibly an Imperial Topaz would do. But I really need more to work with.Actually, it was just a random question. I was thinking of something for my mom's birthday, but it really depends on where you get the piece, how it's laid, and all that other stuff. Imperial Topaz sounds nice...can I get that for $54.47, 4 marbles and a bottle cap? :D
The only thing that can cut a diamond, is a diamond. A diamond may be extremely hard, However, I could shatter one like a piece of cheap glass if I wanted to.Neat, how? Electrolysis? The ol' "throw a fat man on top of it" method? :D

Some more:
What's with the significance of birthstones? Do they really have anything to do with your birthday?

What's the world's largest and most expensive stone, where's it located, and what's the combination to the safe? :D

Is there any evidence of gems being able to do all sorts of mystical stuff (e.g. find water)? Or are they just crackpot theories?

Where and when was the first diamond found? And by who?

How do you determine the value of a gem?

How is it that jewels became so precious, when they are nothing but mere stones?

i also polish pieces of glass that i found down by the river( yep..the mighty Mississippi ) Hey, me too. :) But my mom told me they were from beer bottles, so I didn't keep them.

Pumpkin:

well, i do have a question: i have been experimenting with my polishing compounds...and, i have been using Aluminum Oxide, and, also Cerrium Oxide. but, they are both doing only an OK job in the polishing department.. is there anything better than either of those polishing compounds that you might recommend?? i also polish pieces of glass that i found down by the river( yep..the mighty Mississippi ) and, i make wind-chimes out of them. they are usually pretty old pieces/shards washed up a-shore, some of them are the old cobalt blue and cranberry and depression glass colors...really neat

I have absolutley no idea. I know stuff about gems and Jewelery, not tumbling however closley related.

Blue:


Imperial Topaz sounds nice...can I get that for $54.47, 4 marbles and a bottle cap

Well.....No..... But if you really want to get her something I could tell you what to get. Just tell me two things: Birthday and what some of her other jewelery Has, stone wise (Just tell me colors unless you know the stone). With that info I could tell you what to get.


Neat, how? Electrolysis? The ol' "throw a fat man on top of it" method?

Nope. Grap a torch, heat it up for a minute. Then Drop it in water. Instant Diamond dust. (it wouldnt really turn into dust but it would shatter like glass)



What's with the significance of birthstones? Do they really have anything to do with your birthday?

Ummm not really. I do believe they have Historical significace. You know how most constellations have greek origins? well im sure birthstones come partly from that, partly from historcial events, partly from legend.


What's the world's largest and most expensive stone, where's it located, and what's the combination to the safe?

Im actually not too sure. But I'll tell you this, There is a Nice size diamond that was found and studied for 6 months before the guy who found it cut it. I believe its still the largest ever found. Imagine studing it for 6 months as to figure a way to cut it eliminating the most flaws and still have the largest size....


Is there any evidence of gems being able to do all sorts of mystical stuff (e.g. find water)? Or are they just crackpot theories?

Crackpot theories. However, Gems/Crystals have very unique chemical properties and sensetivities. There is actually a gem called Kunzite that is sensetive to UV light and will fade from its natural pink to a dull color if exposed for a long period of time.


Where and when was the first diamond found? And by who?

Im not entirely sure where and by who but I believe the first recorded usage was between 1400-1500 A.D. And some more history? Cleopatra's "emeralds" were mostly, if not all, actually Peridot, the birthstone of August.



How do you determine the value of a gem?

Well a couple of major factors are luster, hardness, color, and rarity. Rarity being the largest factor. However a larger factor is involved. The Most important and truley 10's more important than the other most important factor: Popularity.
Ever heard of Tanzinite? Beautiful stone. Its been around for 50 yrs. 15 yrs ago I could have bought a 5carat stone for $15. Current Market value: $300 a carat. A company rediscovered it and spent all their time and money advertising it.


How is it that jewels became so precious, when they are nothing but mere stones?

An interesting Question. Answered by this: Welcome to the Human Race. :bugeye:

Later
T

Originally posted by Tristan
Well.....No..... But if you really want to get her something I could tell you what to get. Just tell me two things: Birthday and what some of her other jewelery Has, stone wise (Just tell me colors unless you know the stone). With that info I could tell you what to get.September 29th, and I really don't notice what kind of jewellery she has...maybe I'll just get her something else. A badly drawn picture might be worth less, but the sentimentality value would be through the roof. :D Thanks for the offer though. :)
Nope. Grap a torch, heat it up for a minute. Then Drop it in water. Instant Diamond dust. (it wouldnt really turn into dust but it would shatter like glass)That's cool! :cool: Now, to find me some diamonds to experiment on...*lol*
Ummm not really. I do believe they have Historical significace. You know how most constellations have greek origins? well im sure birthstones come partly from that, partly from historcial events, partly from legend.I see...I would have just thought it was part of Hallmark's or Tiffany's marketing scams. :D
Im actually not too sure. But I'll tell you this, There is a Nice size diamond that was found and studied for 6 months before the guy who found it cut it. I believe its still the largest ever found. Imagine studing it for 6 months as to figure a way to cut it eliminating the most flaws and still have the largest size....Yikes!
Well a couple of major factors are luster, hardness, color, and rarity. Rarity being the largest factor. However a larger factor is involved. The Most important and truley 10's more important than the other most important factor: Popularity.
Ever heard of Tanzinite? Beautiful stone. Its been around for 50 yrs. 15 yrs ago I could have bought a 5carat stone for $15. Current Market value: $300 a carat. A company rediscovered it and spent all their time and money advertising it.Never heard of Tanzinite, but the historical reference is interesting. :)
An interesting Question. Answered by this: Welcome to the Human Race. :bugeye::D

One more question for today, one that's probably the easiest to answer: How, and most importantly why, do you know all this? :bugeye: :)

One more question for today, one that's probably the easiest to answer: How, and most importantly why, do you know all this?

Well ive been working for a jeweler for 2 years now (apprenticing actually). Not to mention I want to take a course with GIA (LOOKY!!! (http://www.gia.org)) and become a certified Gemologist. I will be able to complete their distance learning program before I graduate high school (Im a sophmore, 16 on Thanksgiving Day!). Thus I could start out making 30K a year going into college. SWEET! and im going to go to college for astronomy. So Ill be a professional Gemologist and Astronomer.

But enough babbling. Now you know.

Later
T:bugeye:

ok...so, you aren't too much into the processing part (ie. lapidary, etc) of the rocks/gems thing, i take it...but, that doesn't stop me from sharing a very cool semi-precious find i found. hmmm. that sounded funny. anyways..
i rock hound, too...i go to the Mississippi River banks and a local quarry to look for rocks. we have lots of cool Geodes in Iowa..hey, could be why it's the State rock. hmm. ok, i digress..
my most awesome find to date is a little smaller- than- fist size agate..the colors/bands swirled in crimsons, fire oranges and rusts...BUT!! wait!! there's more..i noticed there was a cloudy patch of a light-hued smattering on its surface...so, i decided to smash it open and...guess what i found? beautiful amethyst crystals!! that was pretty fun and exciting. yep. i didn't expect to find that...not in this area...but, anyways..that's fun to find treasure like that. (to me..it's treasure) ok. end story. :D

Oh Plz Ms. Pumpkin, share away.

Ive went to Creed colorado and was escorted by a sherif to an abandon mine. I had a rock pick and And 6 feet tall pile of ore infront of me. Needless to say that every rock I broke open, every rock, contained a geoed, was pure quartz, or had some amethyst in it.

Later
T;)

:eek: well, darn it....am i ever jealous...hmmm. :mad: if you live out near colo. you are lucky...the best gems and semi-precious stones are found out that way...i got stuck in a cruddy state ...it can't produce anything for me but LIMESTONE and Geodes. grrrrr. i would love to find a garnet or citrine...but, no such luck here.

actually, garnets and citrines (amitrines, too)are about my favorite at the moment.. ..oh, yeah...tanzanites, too. . i am intrigued by their color propensities and their over-all beauty. really. my birthstone gem is the emerald...i do love it, but, i act like i don't, mainly because it is so darned expensive, and, i can't afford it. :mad: :D
i do like aquamarine and blue topaz as well. what's your favorite?

and, btw...what the heck was a sheriff escorting you for?? i don't understand?? were you on a private mine area? or what??

if you live out near colo. you are lucky

Nope. I was just visiting


i do like aquamarine and blue topaz as well. what's your favorite?

Aquamarine is really cool. My favorite stones are Kunzite and Amythest. However Alexandrite is really cool and so is Tourmaline.


what the heck was a sheriff escorting you for?? i don't understand?? were you on a private mine area? or what??

In addition to this being a very small town, the mine areas were all closed off due to falling rocks, collapsing wood and buildings, ect. Bascially everything dangerous related to an old mine. Also I was a bit younger. Ill be 16 on thanksgiving day so I was about 11 or 12. But it was pretty sweet.

Anyything else?:bugeye:

Later
T:D

"anything else"?

well....yeah, but, with that buggy-eyed glare, i'm kinda afraid to ask....:p

:p :eek:

umm im doing a school report bout 2 pages back to back i need answers to these questions

who started birthstones (teacher said sumthin bout tribe-arrow)
what did birthstones signify
when did birthstones begin
where do birthstones come from
why were birthstones used
how do we get birthstones

ADRIAN JONES JUNIOR HIGH

There is a substance known as borazon, which is a compound of
alternating boron and nitrogen atoms arranged in the same manner as the
carbon atoms of diamond, that is actually harder then diamond.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borazon

I have a gem story, too! When I was about 6 years old, I was on Umnak, an Aleutian island with my dad. We were walking up a creek and there was this huge boulder in the middle of the creek. Several pockets had formed on the boulder and inside were amythest or garnet. It was really cool, but there was no way to get any of the crystals back with me. Oh well.

Can you carve petrified wood?

Need to know something about Gems/Jewelery?

Ask. I shall know.

Later,
T

How can you tell a fake emerald from the real deal? I understand that today imitation gemstones are getting into the market and people aren't getting the real thing, how prevalant is that?

What mineral does the variety tanzanite belong to?

Petrified wood is essentially rock. So yeah, you can carve it... with stone cutting tools. Its more fragile than, say, a solid piece of rock though.

Fake emeralds (you mean artificial) usually are a deeper green than the real emerald (unless you have a really high quality emerald. Also, they usually dont have the charateristic fractures and clevage as a real one... generally, if someone says they got this huge deep green, clean, clear emerald for really cheap... its either imitation (glass) or Aritifical.

Ill have to look up Tanzanite... but the color it has is actually from it being heat treated. When mined, it has a dull brown to white color. After heat treating, it gains its purplish hue.

Wait... is tanzanite zoisite? Or something like that... I REFUSE to do a search.

I've got a question; do you have to cut the facets so that they align with the crystal structure of the gem?

If so, how do you detect the internal structure in an uncut stone?

Need Report Help!!!!

I got a question right up your alley...
Round (spherical) diamonds.
I have been looking for someone who can (will) cut a nice clean diamond into a sphere.
All I can find is those cheap brazilian "Diammond Pearls" and rumors that there is a company who has a petented method, but apparently, they do not come out very well (something to do with the grain?).
Isn't there a way to cut a round-shaped diamond into an almost spherical shape with many facets, then maybe tumble it with diamond dust (that's how they do crystal spheres, right?) to make a spherical diamond?
Do you know anyone who might do this?

More important question: Why in the world would you want a spherical diamond? That kind of defeats the purpose of having a diamond. The way the crystal strcutre works in a diamond produces a brilliant luster when faceted properly. A spherical diamond will look the same as a sphere of glass or sphere of quartz.

As for how it might be done. Possibly with the rock tumbler method you suggested. More likley, that would be for polishing it before actually making it into a sphere. Something more like how they grind down ball bearings to an exacting size would be a better guess as to how it is done.

Eburacum: The facets do not have to align in any way with the crstal stucture of the gem. However, In some respects it might be advantageous for structural reasons. Some gems are fragile, like emerald. If you cut against the grain, you might have a higher chance of cracking the stone. Im not tooo familiar with stone faceting, but I can ask a friend who does it when I get the chance.

And Facial, yes, Zoisite is the family of stones more or less that Tanzinite follows in. Kinda like, Quartz... you have pink, brown, etc and so forth

Why in the world would you want a spherical diamond? That kind of defeats the purpose of having a diamond.
Wouldn't the notion of "defeating the purpose" depend on why you want the diamond? :)


Something more like how they grind down ball bearings to an exacting size would be a better guess as to how it is done.

And how do they do that?

You haven't heard of anyone who does this?

You know, I dont recall of hand how that process is exactly done... It was in Discover a few months ago...

Here's something interesting!

Three centuries ago, an astonishingly simple manufacturing method had been developed for balls made of stone, e. g. marble (Figure 33, left). Lumps of stone were hammered into squares with rounded edges and put on stone plates with concentric grooves; then a wooden plate was put on top and run as a water wheel, until, after one, two or three days, the squares had become balls.

The deviation in diameter of these balls from the ideal circular shape, the out-of-roundness, is less than 0.1 millimetre
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/ball.htm

And no I have not heard of that. It's just, well, kind of wastefull in the eyes of business. Unless there is a need for extremely hard marbles. Diamond btw is extremely hard... But can definitely be cracked. So dont think that a hammer blow to a dimond wouldnt hurt it. Heck, I could heat it up with a torch, drop it in cool water and it will shatter. Although... I wouldnt want to try exactly.

Take it easy,
Tristan

That was a really interesting link. Thank you.

I want to use it for jewelry, not any kind of machinery or any such thing that would put it under great stress.
I just love the ideal of natural diamonds (taking so long to form, hardest natural structure known to man, the essentially eternal nature of them) but I do not like the brilliant, glossy flashy style of faceted stones.
I HATE "bling"!
Plus, I am a fan of precision engineering.
And I just wanted to know if it can be done.
Like I said, I heard a rumor of one comapny that does it (a proprietary process that they don't share) but I don't know who they are, and I have heard they are not very impressive specimines (though I would like to see one for myself).
Those Brazillian ones I mentioned are not at all what I am looking for.

What is the cheapest way for me to obtain an amethyst cathedral (not citrine) in the UK? Something about 2.5 ft high and 1ft wide?

thanks

c20

Are they running out of these beautiful, recently discovered gems like tsavorites and tanzanites? Or do they keep finding new lodes?

Can you melt a diamond, if you can, how?

According to this link:
http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/elements/diamond/diamond.htm

3820 degrees Kelvin

I would think melting it would destroy its crystaline structure.
I wonder what the results would be.

Liquid carbon. Very hot, liquid carbon.

i didnt know you could melt diamond, hey where can i get some decent double terminate quarts crystals, about 1-2 inches long 5 of them in total around london, i will probably end up looking on ebay,

what does diamond look like when in liquid form?,


peace

For the crystals, check your local hippy store or maybe a science-y type place. You may be able to find them in a mall. Does London have malls? It should.

You wouldn't be able to see molten carbon, as the white hot glow would burn your retinas out. Carbon has a ridiculously high melting temp; more than half that of the surface of the sun. That's a cop out answer, I know, but I imagine it would be clear, if it weren't glowing like a star.

[edit]
Carbon has a sublimation temp, now that I check again. It may just move from a solid to a gas without an inbetween stage.

Anyway, a really great place to just browse around and learn all kinds of stuff is en.wikipedia.org. Try it out sometime :)

[editx2]
I goofed. Upon triple checking, it does have a melting temperature. My bad. It appears the transpearancy of carbon comes from it's crystal structure. In a liquid state it would lose all crystal structure, and so would most definitely probably be clear. At such extreme temps it's very hard to predict the behavior of whatever it is we're talking about, but I'd guess, other than the white hot glow, it'd be sort of like liquid glass or water.

Need to know something about Gems/Jewelery?

Ask. I shall know.

Later,
T

What is the best way to tell the difference between Tanzanite and Iolite?

The Most important and truley 10's more important than the other most important factor: Popularity. Ever heard of Tanzanite? Beautiful stone. Its been around for 50 yrs. 15 yrs ago I could have bought a 5carat stone for $15. Current Market value: $300 a carat.A friend of mine did that. He cashed out all of his investments about twenty years ago (before I knew him, unfortunately) and bought a safety deposit box full of tanzanites. He died a few years ago (knew it would happen, he was never well) and his family are millionaires.

I'll pay you if you pretend to be me at uni.
I'm really fed up of looking at rocks.

Does quartz ever have cleavage?

It has four stages of hibernation under xpl when you spin the bitch.
It hasn't got any clearly visible cleavage though, in my experience.

I think it does have some ridiculously high number of cleavage planes using a microscope. I can't remember though

Greetings, I have two questions please

How can you tell a lab created emerald from a fake made of glass or a less precious stone?

Also if you had a load of sapphires straight from the ground how could you go about identifying and polishing them? With the minimum of expensive equipment available?

Thanks,

How can you tell a lab created emerald from a fake made of glass or a less precious stone?The last I heard, the difference between a natural stone and a synthetic stone is that all natural stones have inclusions and all synthetic stones do not. A stone is graded "Flawless" if its inclusions are not visible at 500X, but if you use more powerful magnification you can see them. If it's a synthetic stone then there won't be any. Of course they're working on ways to synthesize stones in the lab with built-in inclusions, so it will become harder to tell them apart.

As far as distinguishing an emerald (or any precious or semiprecious stone) from a fake comprised of a different mineral, every stone has its own unique refractive properties based on its crystalline structure. A gemologist can tell them apart in a second with his optical instruments. Some of them are so close that if you don't tell the gemologist to expect a fake he might not look hard enough to notice, such as a real diamond versus an always-synthetic cubic zirconia.

If you hand a gemologist a CZ and ask him, "Is my diamond of good quality?" he might take a cursory look and say, "Yeah." But if you ask him, "How much will you pay me for my diamond?" he'll take a better look and say, "You've been swindled. This is a CZ."

Also if you had a load of sapphires straight from the ground how could you go about identifying and polishing them? With the minimum of expensive equipment available?What a strange question. If they're real sapphires, a "load" of them is worth a lot of money. So why would you want to use cheap equipment and do a poor job of preparing them for market?

hmm interesting thanks, is there anyway you can determine through hardness?

as for the sapphires im not sure of their quality, in fact im pretty sure that if they are genuine, their poor quality, i got them more out of curiosity and am wondering if they are real and if they are if they would make good gemstones...

thanks again

Is there something interesting my friend can do with the huge chunk of petrified wood he found?

hmm interesting thanks, is there anyway you can determine through hardness?Sure. That's one of the things a gemologist can check. But it's not the sort of test you can perform without professional equipment.
as for the sapphires im not sure of their quality, in fact im pretty sure that if they are genuine, their poor quality, i got them more out of curiosity and am wondering if they are real and if they are if they would make good gemstones.Didn't you answer your own question? If they're of poor quality, then even if they're real they're not good gemstones. These days some jewelry artists are using low-quality gemstones as accents in their crafted pieces. But not usually sapphires and the other precious stones. They're more likely to buy the cheaper semiprecious stones like citrine and amethyst. A twenty-dollar garnet will have a lot more fire than a twenty-dollar ruby.

thanks for the reply,

yeah im not sure how they would look as they are rough, i thought polishing them might give an indication of how nice they would look. Im not intending to sell them just thought is might be a bit of fun...

Why do they say an emerald does not change colour?

Greetings, I have two questions please

How can you tell a lab created emerald from a fake made of glass or a less precious stone?

Also if you had a load of sapphires straight from the ground how could you go about identifying and polishing them? With the minimum of expensive equipment available?

Thanks,

I have a similar jewel question:

What's the physical difference between an industrial grade diamond and gem grade? Impurity?

and why does it cost so much to manufacture the gem grade?

I have an agate that weighs about 19 lbs. I found it in a ton of river rock that I had bought for use in landscaping. It is from the Cain River in the southern Appalachians. What do you suppose it would be worth?

My daughter just bought a 3 inch fulgarite at a mineral show. She paid $10. Did she get ripped off?

The person who started this thread is long gone, so there are no gemologists here to answer these questions.
I have an agate that weighs about 19 lbs. I found it in a ton of river rock that I had bought for use in landscaping. It is from the Cain River in the southern Appalachians. What do you suppose it would be worth?Search the web for dealers and find out what the going price is. If there's a reputable rockhound shop in your town, take it to them for appraisal.
My daughter just bought a 3 inch fulgarite at a mineral show. She paid $10. Did she get ripped off?It's spelled "fulgurite" and it's glass formed naturally by lightning striking sand. In tracking down the correct spelling I ran across ads from a couple of dealers that make your price look reasonable. But take the same advice I gave Smith and do your own more extensive Googling. :)

Dealers have a lot of overhead to cover and no two stones of the same mineral and size are identical, so it's difficult to judge such a low price. If she's happy to have it and ten bucks isn't half a week's food budget in your family, then she probably got approximately her money's worth. The only way to develop intuition for what things are worth is to keep going to shows and compare prices, but also use the internet.

...If she's happy to have it and ten bucks isn't half a week's food budget in your family, then she probably got approximately her money's worth. The only way to develop intuition for what things are worth is to keep going to shows and compare prices, but also use the internet.

No, its just 2 weeks worth of allowance. She came home with some bismuth as well adn its beautiful!!! She also got a bag of fossilized shark teeth for $1.
But that bismuth, damn, it doesn't look natural.