Special optical effects in precious colored gemstones

Whenever we look, up above the world so high, it seems as if our eyes are being witness to a great scintillating wonder.

Painters of the Renaissance like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were painters who were inclined towards creating masterpieces. Their paintings show such captivating blend of colors, creating shades on the canvas which are heartwarming.

The playful choice to create that thoughtful picture of Monalisa is still a classic amongst renowned artful conceptions.

Similarly, such magical designs of man’s thoughtful mind are also evident in jewelry. Humans have embellished themselves with beautiful shiny gold and silver jewelry. In addition, colored gemstones setting has been the most sought over since centuries.

Since very long, human civilizations around the world couldn’t have been able to resist the charm of such adornments. The treasure chests of kings and queens have been full with such precious extravaganza.

Talking about colored gems, each one of it is a unique specimen of its kind. Together with color and clarity, optical effects in gems give them a distinct value.

Let us go through some of fascinating wonderful effects below:

1. Adularescence- This is an optical effect which appears hazy, cloudy like. An internal movement of sheen is seen inside the stone. A perfect example of this effect is moonstone.
2. Asterism- Just like a star with its six rays. This effect is best seen in a non-faceted gemstone. Specimens are ruby, garnet, and sapphire.
3. Chatoyancy- This effect resembles a cat’s eye. As the stone moves sideways, a thin bright shiny line across the stone makes it look intriguing. An example of this effect is seen in alexandrite.
4. Iridescence- This change-in-color phenomenon is very commonly seen in soap bubbles, butterfly wings, and sea shells. It is an optical effect which comes in effect as angle of the view is changed. A thin film of air or liquid facilitates such characteristic in a gemstone.

Stones lesser in value like andalusite, labradorite, spectrolite etc, are counted as specimens of this optical effect.

1. Luster- This term usually refers to surface sheen or brilliance of surface of gemstone. Pertaining to the degree of reflection of light, gemstones like diamond is a remarkable example. It has an ability to disperse light of different colors. As compared to diamonds, pearls lack that crisp luster form whereas they exhibit a smooth, silkier-looking luster, called as orient.
2. Play of color- Opal’s playful characteristic of multi-color display could best explain this term.

Therefore, the above described are terms used to describe the various detracting yet impressive optical effects seen in lesser known gemstones.

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I keep myself abreast with the new jewelry trends prevailing round the globe. I have a passion to write about jewelry and gemstones. I am working for an online gemstones and Jewelry selling website and this has given me an edge for writing better about the latest trends in gemstone and jewelry.

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Leading on to the tradition of continuation of knowledge availability to readers, here comes more information of hidden yet glinting wonders of the world of gemstones. Below is a description on some real facts.

• Garnet

Garnets are some abundantly colored vivifying gemstones which are believed to make the ware loyal, devoted and energetic than ever before. If you opt on sincerity and cure loss of blood, cure hemorrhaging and cure inflammatory diseases, the garnet ids the right choice.

The name originates from English word ‘garnet’ meaning dark red.

Ethereally fascinating sub species of it are -

• pyrope,

• almandite,

• rhodolite,

• spessartite,

• spessartite-mandarin,

• hydrogrossular garnet,

• hydrogrossular garnet- hessonite,

• grossular garnet- tsavorite, g

• rossular garnet- malay,

• demantoid,and

• color change garnet.

This gemstone measures its hardness as 6.5 to 7.5 Mohs’ on scale. Making it a relatively accepted crystal for durable jewelry, this is one of the few untreated gemstones which are seen almost flawless.

Garnets are found in all brilliant colors like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink and colorless. Color change quality makes it resemble an alexandrite. It reflects as red colored in artificial light and blue in daylight or florescence.

A star garnet is found unique in reddish to purplish variety.

• Iolite

A cordierite mineral family member, iolite is a crystal consisting elements like iron, aluminium and magnesium. It has derived its name from its founder’s name, the French geologist Louis Cordier.

In addition its said that its name originates from the Greek for violet. Also, it’s called as dichroite which means two colored crystal, in the same language.

Its hardness measures 7 to 7.5 Mohs’ on scale which it’s less durable unlike sapphire. However, in appearance, iolite’s very clean colors resemble with blue sapphire. The shades range from deep blue to light gray-blue to yellowish grey.

Because of this physical characteristic, iolite which is a strong pleochroic reflects distinct colors when viewed from different angles. Moreover, this good value stone brings a low priced substitute fro sapphire.

In the near future, this very less prized gemstone is predicted to make a mark in the colored gemstone jewelry world. Whatsoever, be the scenario of the future, king like sparkling rocks like sapphire, tanzanite, ruby, will never lose their sheen.

Contemporary gemstone jewelry will retain their positions as much coveted ones like sapphire rings, tanzanite earrings and diamond rings

Emerald Earrings, Sapphire Earrings and Tanzanite Earrings

Jewelry is not just in writing but a fascination for me. I grew into it since the day I started my research. There is a lot that one needs to know about jewelry simply because they are so valuable that you cannot afford to miss a single bit. My alliance with online gemstone and jewelry selling website enables me to bring you the best of jewelry fashion and jewelry education.

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