Category Archive: Jewelry and gems

Aquamarine is a crystalline variety of beryl. The name of the stone in Latin means “sea water” because its sky-blue or bluish-green color. Aquamarine can be either completely transparent or contain numerous inclusions. Qualitative jewelry stones are found, first of all, in Brazil and the Urals. In addition, aquamarine is in El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, Australia, the USA and Madagascar. This gemstone is used to make earrings, rings, pendants and other jewelry.
Aquamarine brings harmony and reconciliation, contributes to the resolution of conflict situations, promotes communication and empathy. It inspires confidence, calmness and determination, which will help to find a way out of the “hopeless” situations.
To tell the truth, this gemstone has not only calming, but also protective effect. It is believed that aquamarine can tame the raging sea. Not surprisingly, it has been a talisman of sailors and travelers for centuries. Sailors in ancient Rome and Greece believed that the gemstone is the gift of Poseidon.
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Alexandrite is one of the most highly valued gems. Its transparent crystals have an amazing property to change their color. In the daylight they look like emeralds, and in the evening, with candles or an electric lamp, they become crimson-red. Alexandrite is a very rare species of not too common mineral chrysoberyl. Its chemical formula is BeAl₂O₄. Like many other minerals, chrysoberyl has a variety of colors and the most common color is yellowish green. This color is provided by impurities of iron. A changeable gemstone alexandrite is a chrysoberyl with chromium in its composition. Truly, chromium is an element of magic. It gives a bright green color to beryllium and turns it into an emerald. The presence of chromium in corundum makes it a red ruby.
For a very long time alexandrite was hidden in the depths of the earth. Neither in ancient, nor in medieval mineralogical treatises gemstone with such properties was mentioned. A new mineral was discovered on April 17, 1834 by Finnish scientist Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld.
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Sapphire is one of the most expensive minerals in the world. The name “sapphire” comes from the Greek sappheiros – “blue stone”. However, a similar word existed in the Hebrew and Persian languages. It is possible that the original source was Sanskrit. Like other blue jewelry stones, it is considered to be an “air stone” and personifies the sky.
A good blue sapphire must be dense and heavy, transparent, shiny (with an inner shine) and well-cut. The color of the ideal stone “resembles the color of the neck of a peacock or cornflowers”. Sapphires are blue, however, there are some more rare sapphires of other colors.
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Semiprecious stones are famous not only for their incomparable color, brilliance, crystalline form, but also for that divine aura that allows to consider them a miracle.
Despite the fact that today minerals have been thoroughly studied even at the atomic level, they, like thousands of years ago, remain a mystery to us. The Ural malachite is a Russian gemstone with tremendous esoteric properties. Modern esotericists claim that malachite has an exceptional ability to take negative energy, clearing the surrounding space. But the stone should be periodically cleaned. Otherwise, the negative energy accumulated in it can be harmful. That is why it is not recommended to wear malachite jewelry, previously owned by the sick people.
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Snakes don’t have legs, or arms either. These reptiles look slippery and slimy, but their skin actually feels like cool soft leather. The smallest snakes are no larger than worms. All snakes are hunters and swallow their food whole, without chewing. Snakes are eaten by big birds such as eagles, hawks, and owls.
During cold winters, thousands of snakes may sleep together in a hole underground to keep each other warm.
There are about 2,900 species of snake. The best-known snakes include cobras, vipers, boas, and pythons. Snakes are found throughout the world except near the North and South poles. Most snakes live on the ground, but others prefer trees. Sea snakes live in water.
Snakes grow throughout their lives. A snake sheds its skin many times during its life.
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Probably, the ring is the most popular and mysterious decoration in the world. Both men and women wear rings. Apparently, such popularity the ring earned thanks to the mysterious past. Rings can be found in numerous fairy tales and legends of almost all the peoples of the world. In addition, history knows a lot of rings that have become real artifacts.
The ring can be traced back to great antiquity. Rings as symbols of respect and authority is mentioned in several parts of the Bible.
Rings wore as ornaments in early Egypt, in Greece, and even among less civilized peoples. In antiquity, it was the custom among people of the lower classes to break a piece of gold or silver to seal the marriage pact. This custom came before the exchange of rings.
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Many people think that garnet is red. Despite the fact that the dark red varieties of this group of minerals are more common than others, their color range is much wider and varies from emerald green to reddish-brown and even black.
Garnet is known to man since ancient times and had many names. Theophrastus, for example, called it anthrax – coal, and Pliny the Elder named it carbunculus.
Garnets are hard and very often they are transparent. Their color depends on the elements in the chemical composition. The most valuable type of garnet is red.
Pyrope is the most valuable variety of garnet. Its name comes from the Greek feast, fire. It is also known as Bohemian garnet. The rich dark red color of this gemstone is due to the presence of magnesium in its composition.
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