By: D.Rhadika

Gemstones quite literally can take our breath away when we see them. Who hasn’t seen a beautiful diamond or sapphire ring and exclaimed over it? Is it only their beauty that makes them so valuable? Why else are they valuable to us?

Most gemstones are minerals that occur naturally in the earth. The most common is quartz, which is made of silicon and oxygen, two of the most common chemicals or substances on the planet. Even though most people don’t find such crystals unless specifically looking for it, it’s still relatively common in the gem world.

One quality that determines the value of a gem is how rare it is. A diamond, believe it or not, is actually a more common gemstone. However, the sales and distribution of diamonds are tightly controlled, which keeps the demand for diamonds of any characteristic in high value. Certainly perfect, flawless diamonds are truly rare, but diamonds themselves aren’t particularly rare.

Other gemstones are much rarer, such as sapphires and rubies, which are part of the beryl family of minerals. Rubies are rarer than sapphires and top quality colors in both are extremely rare.

A mineral called benitoite is found only in the San Benito valley in California, where only a few hundred carats of it are found each year. It is the state gem of California and is a hexagonal-shaped crystal. It can be cut and polished to produce sapphire-colored gemstone jewelry.

Some gems are even rarer than bentitoite. They’re so rare, that only three or four of them exist in the world. And the location where the gemstone was found can make a big difference as well. While peridot is a fairly common gem, there were actually several carats of peridot discovered in a meteorite, making that one of the rarest gems ever!

Labels: Common and uncommon gemstones, diamond ring, Hope Diamond

By: D.Rhadika

Is there anyone who hasn’t at least heard of the famous Hope Diamond? Many people are surprised when they first learn that this famous stone isn’t a clear diamond, but instead is a brilliant blue stone, surrounded by white diamonds and suspended from a diamond necklace.

It first appears in history in the mid 1600s when it was purchased by a merchant named Jean Baptiste Tavernier, who sold the stone to Louis XIV of France. At that time it was a 112-carat stone, described as having a beautiful violet color. It was recut into a 67-carat stone and the color was named French Blue. During the French Revolution, the diamond was stolen during a looting of the crown jewels. It reappeared in 1812, but recut once again and was acquired by George IV of England who had to sell the stone to pay off debts. The exact transaction is unknown, but the diamond is next found as an entry in the collection of Henry Philip Hope, whose name is attached to the diamond to this day.

Eventually the stone was owned by the Cartier jewelry firm in Paris and purchased by Evalyn Walsh Maclean of Washington, DC. It was at her request that the stone was reset and made into the necklace that we know of today. It was acquired by Henry Winston who purchased it from Mrs. Maclean’s estate in 1947 and eventually became part of the Smithsonian Collection.

There is a long-standing legend of a curse attached to the Hope Diamond, which the story says was plucked from an idol in India. True or not, many who have owned the Hope Diamond have met with misfortune, including the Hope family, who supposedly went bankrupt from owning the diamond. It’s possible that the whole concept of the curse originated with Pierre Cartier who sold it to Mrs. Maclean with the story of a curse, because she thought objects surrounded with bad luck were actually good luck for her. Sadly, Mrs. Maclean’s first son was killed at age 9 in a car accident and her 25-year old daughter committed suicide. Her husband was declared insane and was institutionalized until his death in 1941. Was it part of a curse?

Labels: dates for neil diamond tour, Hope Diamond, trina diamond princess