Diamond Classroom

石榴石

Garnet—A Gemstone and High-Tech Material?

Gemstones / By

Garnet is a versatile and colorful gemstone. Its name comes from the Latin word for pomegranate, due to its color and shape resembling pomegranate seeds. Garnet is a group of silicate minerals that have been used as gemstones and abrasives since the Bronze Age. There are many types of garnet, including pyrope, spessartine, and almandine each with unique chemical compositions and color characteristics. In addition to its use as a precious gemstone, garnet has extensive industrial applications, such as in water jet cutting, mechanical polishing, and optical equipment. In summary, garnet’s diverse uses and unique physical properties make it valuable in various fields with promising application potential.

光譜石

A gems with unique optical effects – Labradorite

Gemstones / By

Labradorite gets its name from the Labrador region in Canada, where it was first discovered. The stone contains a variety of metal element crystal minerals, giving it a unique play of colors known as labradorescence. This phenomenon causes the stone to shimmer with vibrant colors. Labradorites that display a full spectrum of colors are called “Spectrolite,” which is especially rare and valuable. Labradorite typically appears in gray, brown, or black, while gemstone-quality labradorite can exhibit iridescent colors such as red, yellow, blue, and green. When choosing labradorite, stones with a beautiful and large area of labradorescence are the most desirable. Due to its well-developed cleavage, labradorite is prone to breakage, so it should be set in jewelry with protective designs and handled carefully to avoid impact. There are almost no imitations of labradorite, but syenite rocks have a similar luster and are often counterfeited, but the quality is not as good as gem-grade labradorite.

日長石

A sparkling gemstone – Sunstone

Gemstones / By

Sunstone, discovered by mineralogists in 1837, is primarily composed of oligoclase from the plagioclase series. Initially, it was very expensive due to its rarity, but it became more widely available after new deposits were discovered in Norway and Siberia. Its name comes from the fact that when viewed from a certain direction, the gemstone will shine with a bright golden brillience, which is a phenomenon known as “Aventurescence”. This shimmer is due to the presence of fine mineral inclusions within the gemstone, such as chalcopyrite, native copper, annite, goethite or hematite, which reflect golden to brownish-yellow light. The color of the gemstone is influenced by the amount of inclusions; the more inclusions it has, the deeper the color. When selecting sunstone, it is best to choose one that is evenly covered with metallic shimmer. To maintain it, avoid impacts to prevent damage along the cleavage planes.

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A gemstone that glows at night — Fluorite

Gemstones / By

Fluorite comes in various colors due to its exposure to different minerals during its formation process. Its unique color change and fluorescence are also caused by trace amounts of transitional or rare earth elements. There are two main directions for selecting fluorite for collection: one is choosing faceted gemstones, and the other is selecting phenomena stones such as fluorescence, phosphorescence, color change, etc. Fluorite plays a significant role in industries such as metallurgy, optics, and electronics, special lenses in laboratories are also made from fluorite, which have excellent dispersion resistance.

符山石

The Versatile Crystal Gemstone — Idocrase

Gemstones / By

Idocrase is a gemstone with a highly variable crystal form, resembling other minerals such as tourmaline, fluorite, zircon, and garnet. This resemblance led to its name “Idocrase,” meaning “mixed form” in Greek. Another name for the gemstone, Vesuvianite, comes from its discovery near Mount Vesuvius, Italy. Idocrase is quite durable and does not require special care, but it should be protected from prolonged exposure to sunlight (UV rays) to avoid fading.

硬水鋁石

The Color-Changing Gemstone—Diaspore

Gemstones / By

硬水鋁石（Diaspore），英文名來自希臘文，意指「分散」，因其加熱後會爆裂四散。這種水合鋁氧化物礦物屬斜方晶系，與針鐵礦為異質同構礦物，晶體呈扁平狀，聚晶呈片狀或鱗狀晶簇，解理發達，破裂面常有珍珠光澤。硬水鋁石通常為無色、灰色、淡黃色，稀有紫色也可見。觀賞價值高的變色硬水鋁石，產自土耳其，商業上稱為「舒坦石」（Zultanite），其變色效應不亞於亞歷山大石，變色效果包括綠色、粉紅色、黃色和紫色，變色效應強的大克拉數標本極為稀有，難以估價。

在工業上，硬水鋁石廣泛存在於鋁土礦、紅土和某些岩石中，可用作耐火材料和鋁的提煉。硬水鋁石硬度高，不易刮擦，但因解理發達，需避免碰撞和接觸刺激性化學物質，如家用清潔劑和香水，這些可能會損害寶石。

Synthetic diamonds

Diamond Knowledge / By

The phrase “Diamonds are merely unremarkable carbon” highlights the essential truth that both diamonds and graphite are made of pure carbon, but in different forms, or allotropes. This discovery led to the continued pursuit of methods to artificially create diamonds. After 157 years of research, scientists found that a key factor in transforming carbon into diamonds is the use of catalysts, also known as chemical agents, to accelerate the process.

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