I fear that I am a bit of a magpie. I like shiny sparkly things, and the usual response is Ooh! Shiny! And as a young one, when taken on various trips, I started to take an interest in rock hounding and geology. It was finding gemstones that were the real fun, seeing these little bits of glittery rock that turned out to be sapphires or amethysts or garnets. Life would take me in different directions, but the interest in pretty, glittery rocks has remained.
ValuableStones.com is one of those lovely websites that is crammed full of information and pictures, along some folklore and bits of trivia that add to the mystique of gemstones. It's a wonderful website, filled with more than 200 photographs, with a text that while it is slanted towards scientific terms, is very readable and accessible.
An online encyclopedia for Gemstones
The first section of the website is an extended introduction to what makes a gemstone different than say, a mineral, although they might be composed of the same chemicals. A brief history of how gemstones and precious metals (silver, gold and platinum) have been shaped, worn and coveted. One section that I found very interesting was the explanation of the Moh's scale used to determined hardness -- it ranges from 1 to 10, with talc at the bottom, and diamond at the top, and how a stone is determined to fit in along the scale. Another fascinating section is how light and crystallization help to determine gemstones, and what part they play in how a stone is shaped and graded. There is also a section on synthetic gemstones and how they have been created over the centuries, and how the color of stones can be changed by irradiation, heating and staining the stones. Finally, the section closes with a color key, ranging various stones by their hues, with plenty of vivid pictures and the name of each stone underneath along with the page that goes into more detail about it.
The next section deals with the gemstones and precious metals in particular. Each item is classified into Precious Metals, Cut Stones, and Organics -- and each item is given a page or two that goes into further detail. Stones are given their chemical composition, rating on the Moh's scale, crystal structure, some folklore and history, what sort of cuts that the stones are usually shaped into, and lots of photographs.
The photographs in the website are incredible!! I have never seen such beautiful pictures of gemstones and gemstone jewelry. They are unusually clear, and crispy, There is jewelry, different colors that the stone can occur in, and a few shown in their 'matrix' or the surrounding stone and minerals that the gemstones are usually found in their natural state. One of the more intriguing sections is on what are known as Organic Gemstones -- stones that are created by natural, not chemical, occurrences, such as pearls, coral, ivory, shell and amber.
The final sections include a Gem gallery where every gemstone is described in detail. There is section on Birthstones and Ancient Myths which was very fascinating.
A section includes THE WORLD'S LARGEST DIAMONDS.. I couldn't believe looking at diamonds as big as your palm!!
It's a fun website to learn about gemstones.
- Nicole
www.valuablestones.com
