By Shawna Fletcher


Gemstones are semi-precious jewels, which, in their most basic forms, are crystallized minerals which are mined from deep under the earth. Under special conditions, they are formed over long periods of time within rocks and with time, are mined as whole crystals or found in gravel after breaking off from larger mineral deposits. Gemstone jewelry stores work with these natural gems and incorporate them into beautiful pieces of almost every colour imaginable, creating wearable and fashionable designer pieces.

Gemstones are categorized according to many different systems, often varying according to their country of origin and the market for the specific stone in that part of the world. Rare jewels are often priced higher than others, such as diamonds, which are declared precious stones due to the rarity of their occurrence. Other ways of classifying stones are their colours as well as the unique shapes which form in their centres.

Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen around which many myths and legends have been told, is said to have had a love for emeralds. The mines near the Red Sea were a source of a large quantity of these precious and sought-after stones.

According to the tales of Greek history, Helen of Troy, believed to have been of exceptional beauty, wore star-corundums, which are stones believed to be powerful love charms. Upon excavating ancient Persian tombs, archaeologists discovered adornments of all types, encrusted with amethysts, carnelians and lapis lazuli gems.

With the emergence of new age movements and beliefs, awareness has been increased around the healing properties of most gemstones. Citrine, the yellow stone, also called, 'the stone of good fortune', is believed to bring the wearer material success by destroying negative energy and releasing a sunny aura of happiness.

Quartz, which comes in a number of hues, is also a popular gemstone. Clear quartz is believed to bring forth white light which clears stressful or tension-filled situations, while pink, rose quartz brings a sense of love and compassion to the wearer. Whether its spiritual qualities bears relevance to the wearer or not, gemstones create an organic-looking, refreshing aesthetic to a jewelry piece.

Jewelry-makers who use these stones in their pieces, use specialized tools to drill holes into the crystals without breaking or chipping them. This requires extreme concentration and steadiness of the hand, in order to create beautifully crafted and unique pieces of jewelry. Gemstone jewelry stores may sell a host of ornaments as well as adornments or even loose polished and unpolished gems for making custom-made pieces for special purposes.

gemstone jewelry stores




About the Author:



0 comments

Web site development, PHP programming's Fan Box