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Fine Jewelry University Articles matching: “Clear Quartz”
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Gem in the Spotlight: Quartz
…. One of the most famous quartz specimens is the “Berns Quartz,” named after the donors that donated it to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. It is an 8,000 pound (yes you read that correctly) slab of natural clear quartz and is one of the largest clusters ever found. Herkimer diamonds are a famous type of quartz not for their rarity, but for their ability to pass for diamonds to the untrained eye. Of course, they are actually not diamonds at all but double-…
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Gem in the Spotlight: Topaz
… which is a 10 and corundum (sapphire/ruby) which is a 9 on the scale. It is a bit harder than emerald at 7.5-8 and quartz which comes in at 7. Here are some more gemological stats for reference: Refractive index: 1.619 to 1.627 … at once.” And of course, all of them are right. History and Lore Topaz in its pure form is naturally colorless, clear like a diamond. The famous “Braganza Diamond” was thought to be the largest diamond ever found (prior to the Cullinan …
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Synthetic Gems: The Whole Story
… made silicon carbide. In gemology, any material used to look like a gem is called a simulant. So clear glass, rock quartz, GGG, and Moissanite are all diamond simulants. They look like diamonds, but they are not diamonds. These simulants … millions of dollars worth of equipment and world class personnel. Synthetic diamonds on the high end and synthetic quartz on the low end are both very difficult to positively identify as synthetic. Both, I feel, are impossible to identify …
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Gem in the Spotlight: Amethyst
Amethyst is known for its beautiful purple color, and it is the most important quartz variety used in jewelry. Purple has long been considered a royal color, so it is not surprising that amethyst has … which means that it can withstand daily wear and tear. Amethyst has the same refractive index as other varieties of quartz at 1.54-1.55 and is doubly refractive. It has a vitreous polish luster and its specific gravity is 2.66. Its …tribute to the goddess Diana. In order to protect Amethyst, Diana turned her into a statue made of pure, crystalline quartz. Dionysus, upon seeing the stunning statue, wept tears of wine in remorse for his actions. These tears stained the …
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Learn Secret Diamond Buying Skills From a Professional Diamond Buyer
… and they are talking points or gainers, make them convert it to your understanding. It is their job to give you clear information to compare. The cut “C” of the 4 C’s has two components. The first component is simple. The cut can refer to… and lower grades. Assessing the clarity grade of a diamond is a lot like a baseball umpire. Most of the calls are clear cut, everyone agrees. But the border line calls can create big argument. In the diamond world, a higher grade costs …
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What Are Lab Grown Diamonds?
… it is a simulant. Simulants are gems that look like a real, natural gem but are actually another material. So, a clear or white sapphire can be a diamond simulant because it looks like a diamond. That white sapphire can be natural or, …, then it is a diamond simulant. Simulant gems, again, are attempting to mimic another gem, and if they are not clearly disclosed as simulants they are considered fakes. A white sapphire is not, by nature, a fake (in fact it is a beautiful…
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What are “Blood Diamonds”?
… to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council.” These diamonds are sometimes referred to as “blood diamonds.” In July 2000, the global diamond industry made clear to the international community its zero tolerance policy towards conflict diamonds. Dedicated to eradicating the trade in conflict diamonds, it worked closely with the United Nations, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs…
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Gem in the Spotlight: Tanzanite
… effects while they were still underground. Without heating, most tanzanite would be a brown color, similar to smoky quartz. The very small percentage of tanzanite that isn’t heated and is still pretty enough for jewelry displays trichroism… of tanzanite comes from its color. Tanzanite has a Moh’s hardness of 6-7, making it about the same hardness as quartz, softer than ruby, sapphire and emerald and hard than opal. Tanzanite has a refractive index of 1.69-1.70. History and …
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How to Value Inherited Jewelry
…, the intrinsic value standard may not be the best choice for your inherited jewelry items. Putting it All Together Clear communication is the final piece of the puzzle. Generally, one or a few people are responsible with the deposition of…jewelry item has a replacement value appraisal and that value is used as the estate wholesale value, then there is a clear misuse of the jewelry value which will lead to an inequitable division. How the jewelry value is determined is …
