Owner: Gemcyclopedia - Jewellery and Gem Encyclopedia URL:http://www.gemcyclopedia.mochishop.com/ Join Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:08:11 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Mochishop's Free Jewellery & Gem Stone Encyclopedia is the first of its kind - A 'live' encyclopedia containing free articles about jewellery and gem stones.
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Jewellery and Gems: Andamooka Opal 2008-02-28 14:23:00 The Andamooka Opal is a white opal cabochon weighing 203 carats. It was cut from a stone found in Andamooka, Australia, 1949. In 1954, the government of South Australia presented the Andamooka Opal to Queen Elizabeth II. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Andalusite 2007-12-22 12:15:00 Andalusite is a mineral of various colours. When green or reddish-green it is used as a gem stone. It possesses a dichroism similar to alexandrite, though andalusite is distinguishable from alexandrite as the former's green light is unaffected by artificial light.The name andalusite is derived from Andalucia, Spain, where it was originally discovered. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Anatase 2007-12-22 12:06:00 Alternatively known as octohedrite, anatase is a transparent brown or opaque blue gem stone. It is a form of titanium dioxide along with rutile and brookite. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amulet 2007-12-22 06:51:00 An amulet is any object - and often an item of jewellery or a gem stone - believed to possess magical or supernatural qualities that bestow good luck upon the wearer, or ward away evil or illness.Historically, amulets have played a part in Ancient Chinese culture in the form of jade amulets, notably during the Shang-Yin Dynasty (c. 1766-1122 BC) . Such amulets often depicted animals.The ancient Egyptians incorporated deities into their amulets, such as the ibis-headed Thoth.After the Buddha's death (c. 485 BC), Buddhist amulets were worn, often fashioned from conch shells. The Romans wore amulets in finger rings.Today amulets are still worn, though magical or supernatural significance may be less relevant and the amulets supposed powers exist in name only, e.g., charm bracelets. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amorphous 2007-12-20 14:13:00 Amorphous solids are those with no definite order of atoms - that is, no crystalline structure.Glasses are amorphous. The glass obsidian, for example, is volcanic lava which has cooled too quickly for a crystalline structure to form. The gem stone opal is also amorphous. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Ammonite 2007-12-20 14:07:00 Ammonites are an extinct class of mollusc which existed 150,000,000 years ago. In the 19th Century, especially in England where they were found in abundance in Dorset, ammonites were used as mountings in gold, silver or jet and worn as brooches.In medieval Europe ammonites were erroneously considered to be petrified snakes and were known as snakestone. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amethyst Quartz 2007-12-20 14:01:00 Amethyst quartz is a variety of amethyst that has inclusions of quartz or agate. These inclusions give the stone a banded appearance - i.e., from the alternating bands of amethyst and quartz/agate. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amethyst 2007-12-20 12:40:00 Amethyst is a transparent gem stone which belongs to the crystalline quartz family (as opposed to the microcrystalline quartz family).Typically amethyst are purple in colour and range from pale violet to lavender. A deep, rich colour is usually more expensive than a pallid colour. However, if the stone is too dark - i.e., approaching black - it loses its desirability.Formerly, amethyst was considered to be a cardinal gemstone (along with diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire) due to its then rarity. Now that it is mined in abundance it has lost its cardinal status.The most superior amethyst is considered to be Siberian amethyst as it is an intense violet colour which displays a reddish tinge in unnatural light. NB. Siberian amethyst is not necessarily from Siberia as it can be found in ot Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: American Brilliant Cut 2007-12-20 09:34:00 The American
brilliant cut is a variation on the brilliant cut of a diamond. In the American brilliant cut, the width of the table is reduced to one third of the stone. The height of the crown is circa two-thirds of the pavilion.In contrast to the brilliant cut, eight small facets are added to the crown giving a grand total of 40 facets on the crown.The mathematician Marcel Tolkowsky theorised that the American brilliant cut is the ideal cut to maximise brilliance at the expense of lost weight. Read more:Jewellery
, Brilliant
Jewellery and Gems: Ambroid 2007-12-20 09:24:00 Ambroid is a composite of fragments of real amber. It is a reconstructed stone whereby small pieces of amber are fused together under pressure to make a new amber stone that resembles natural amber.It is denser than natural amber and usually contains bubbles in the fusion lines. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Ambergris 2007-12-20 09:10:00 Ambergris is a secretion from the sperm whales intestines. The substance is entirely unrelated to amber.Ambergris is seldom used in modern jewellery making, though was a feature of jewellery and decoration during the European Renaissance. Read more:Jewellery
, Ambergris
Jewellery and Gems: Amber Opal 2007-12-20 08:49:00 Amber opal is a type of opal (not a type of amber). The opal has a brown tincture created by the presence iron oxide. Read more:Jewellery
, Amber
Jewellery and Gems: Amber 2007-12-20 07:05:00 Amber is a resin formed from the sap of trees, notably pine. Most of it dates back some 30-90 million years ago. It was the Romans who were astute enough to recognise that, in order to entomb insects, amber must first exist in a liquid, sappy state.Over many million years amber solidifies into the form we recognise as a gem stone. It may have organic inclusions (e.g., insects) or inorganic inclusions which became entombed in the amber when it was still a liquid state during prehistoric times.Brittle and light in weight, Amber has a Mohs hardness of around 2 - 2.5Most amber now comes from the Baltic region (Poland, Russia). Other localities include Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Myanmar, Norway, Romania, Spain and the United States.In smaller quantities Amber has been so Read more:Jewellery
, Amber
Jewellery and Gems: Amazonite 2007-12-19 15:25:00 The gem stone amazonite is an orthoclase (alkali) feldspar sourced mainly in India. It is also found in Brazil, Canada, Namibia, Russia, Tanzania, and the United States - Colarado to be precise.Amazonite is coloured green to blue-green and sometimes displays adulerescence. The blue-green colouring is attributed to the presence of lead.It is also possible, though atypical, to find amzonintes in yellow, pink, red and grey.White striping also occurs in Amazonite. The more pronounced the white stripes are, the less value the stone has.Amazon is alwaus cut en cabochon. It is not faceted due to the ease with which it fractures.A misnomer applied to amazonite is Amazon jade. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amazon Jade 2007-12-19 11:45:00 Amazon jade is a misnomer applied to green amazonite due to its possessing a degree of similarity to jade. Read more:Jewellery
, Amazon
Jewellery and Gems: Aluminium 2007-12-19 11:35:00 Aluminium (or aluminum as it is called in the United States) is a light bluish-white metal.When it was disovered it was briefly desired more than gold and was used to make jewellery, e.g., for Empress Eugenie. However, in conemporary jewellery uses of aluminium are largely confined to costume jewellery.Though a weak metal, aluminium can be strengthen when alloyed with copper or magnesium. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Almandite 2007-12-19 08:58:00 Almandite is either a synonym of almandine or a misnomer for some types of spinel which resemble almandine in colour. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Almandine Spinel 2007-12-19 08:51:00 Almandine spinel is a misnomer for certain types of spinel that are similar to almandine in colour (e.g., dark red to violet). Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Almandine 2007-12-19 08:01:00 Almandine (also known as almandite) is a type of garnet which ranges in colour from dark red to black. It is often cut en-cabochon and hollowed on the underside in order to allow more light to pass through the stone. It is thus known as a carbuncle.Almandine can be brittle and difficult to facet. Inclusions are usually present and sometimes rutile needles. Rutile needles can form to produce weak four- or six-pointed stars (asterism). When almadines display asterism they are known by the name star almandines.Almandine derives its name from Alabanda, a town in Caria (Asia Minor) an ancient gem-cutting centre. It was named as such by the ancient author and naturalist Pliny the Elder.Currently, almandine is commonly mined in Sri Lanka where it is sometimes known by the misnomer Ceylon Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Alloy 2007-12-19 07:20:00 An alloy is a fusion of two or more metals (or metals and non-metals) in order to produce a new metallic substance. Usually the new metallic substances improves upon its component parts, e.g., it is stronger or more durable. In jewellery-making a base metal is often added to a precious metal to make it more workable. For instance, silver is too soft to be used in jewellery so it must be combined with a base metal to strengthen it. For example, there is Sterling 925 silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) or Britannica silver (95.84% silver, 4.16% copper) which mix copper with silver to strengthen it. Read more:Jewellery
, Alloy
Contact Encyclopedia Editor 2007-12-18 07:21:00 Gemcyclopedia is edited and maintained by James Garry.James is happy to receive and answer emails pertaining to Gemcyclopedia or any articles contained therein. Read more:Encyclopedia
, Editor
Jewellery and Gems: Andamooka Opal 2008-02-28 14:23:00 The Andamooka Opal is a white opal cabochon weighing 203 carats. It was cut from a stone found in Andamooka, Australia, 1949. In 1954, the government of South Australia presented the Andamooka Opal to Queen Elizabeth II. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Andalusite 2007-12-22 12:15:00 Andalusite is a mineral of various colours. When green or reddish-green it is used as a gem stone. It possesses a dichroism similar to alexandrite, though andalusite is distinguishable from alexandrite as the former's green light is unaffected by artificial light.The name andalusite is derived from Andalucia, Spain, where it was originally discovered. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Anatase 2007-12-22 12:06:00 Alternatively known as octohedrite, anatase is a transparent brown or opaque blue gem stone. It is a form of titanium dioxide along with rutile and brookite. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amulet 2007-12-22 06:51:00 An amulet is any object - and often an item of jewellery or a gem stone - believed to possess magical or supernatural qualities that bestow good luck upon the wearer, or ward away evil or illness.Historically, amulets have played a part in Ancient Chinese culture in the form of jade amulets, notably during the Shang-Yin Dynasty (c. 1766-1122 BC) . Such amulets often depicted animals.The ancient Egyptians incorporated deities into their amulets, such as the ibis-headed Thoth.After the Buddha's death (c. 485 BC), Buddhist amulets were worn, often fashioned from conch shells. The Romans wore amulets in finger rings.Today amulets are still worn, though magical or supernatural significance may be less relevant and the amulets supposed powers exist in name only, e.g., charm bracelets. Read more:Jewellery
Jewellery and Gems: Amorphous 2007-12-20 14:13:00 Amorphous solids are those with no definite order of atoms - that is, no crystalline structure.Glasses are amorphous. The glass obsidian, for example, is volcanic lava which has cooled too quickly for a crystalline structure to form. The gem stone opal is also amorphous. Read more:Jewellery
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