Gems Unveiled
Santosh Jha
| 23-02-2024
· Fashion Team
Gemstones are nature's most precious gifts to humanity, sourced from a variety of geological formations including rocks, deposits, rivers, mountains, and lakes.
Their beauty and nobility are unparalleled, captivating hearts with their vibrant colors, crystalline structures, and diverse textures.
Admired by connoisseurs worldwide, gemstones possess a dazzling brilliance and durability that endure the test of time.
Diamond, renowned as the epitome of elegance and strength, is polished from gem-quality diamond, boasting the title of "king of hardness." Its unrivaled resilience is attributed to its remarkable friction-resistant hardness, which surpasses that of corundum by 140 times and quartz by over 1,100 times.
The enduring allure of diamonds lies not only in their exceptional hardness but also in their strong luster, which persists even after processing. With a refractive index of 2.417 and a dispersion rate of 0.044, the highest among natural colorless gemstones, diamonds possess a brilliance that captivates the beholder.
Emeralds, ancient and revered, belong to the beryl family and exhibit a mesmerizing green hue. Characterized by their hexagonal crystal structure, emeralds often form hexagonal columns, albeit with rare vertebrae.
However, due to the stress and compression experienced during their formation, emerald crystals typically display fractures and inclusions, making pristine specimens exceedingly rare. Describing the unique color of emeralds proves challenging; often likened to spinach green or green onion heart green, their true hue evades accurate description.
A blend of yellow and blue tones creates emerald's captivating green, defying conventional color spectra.
Sapphires, another variety of corundum alongside ruby, exhibit a spectrum of colors including pink, yellow, green, white, and multi-colored variations within the same stone. Known for their clarity and vibrant hues, sapphires symbolize loyalty, steadfastness, love, and honesty.
The renowned Padparadscha sapphire, found in Sri Lanka, embodies a captivating pink-orange hue and is highly prized. While pink sapphires have witnessed a surge in popularity, orange, purple, green, and yellow sapphires command considerable value when vibrant in color.
It's important to note that sapphires tinted with gray or brown experience a reduction in beauty and value.
Rubies, belonging to the corundum group, are distinguished by their red to pink hues, attributed to the presence of chromium. The intensity of their color is directly proportional to the chromium content, with blood-red rubies, often referred to as "pigeon's blood red," being the most coveted.
Alongside emerald, sapphire, and tourmaline, rubies rank among the elite colored gemstones. Their durability, just below that of diamonds, adds to their allure and desirability.
Cat's eye gemstones exhibit a range of colors including honey yellow, brownish yellow, yellow-green, and gray-green, with honey yellow being the most prized. Possessing a transparent to translucent quality and displaying a glassy to greasy luster, cat's eye gemstones are highly coveted for their unique optical effects.
While various gemstones can produce the cat's eye effect, including tourmaline, beryl, apatite, quartz, and sapphire, none rival the value and allure of gold and green cat's eye specimens.
The world of gemstones encompasses a rich tapestry of colors, textures, and optical effects, each contributing to their timeless allure and desirability.
Whether it's the enduring brilliance of diamonds, the captivating green of emeralds, the vibrant hues of sapphires, the fiery red of rubies, or the mesmerizing optical effects of cat's eye gemstones, each variety holds a unique charm that continues to captivate hearts and minds around the globe.