Qualities of Semi precious stones

Qualities of Semi precious stones
The semi precious stones have a very different value among them and it is much easier
to get semiprecious stones of great size and purity (clean) than precious stones of such
characteristics.
The oscillation of value or cost of semi precious gemstones will depend on the same
conditions that influence the precious stones: hardness, rarity and beauty and perfection
(purity, color, brightness and transparency). There are approximately 130 mineral species
cataloged as semiprecious, in addition to pink topaz and rainbow moonstone.
Let's see below the most important and those used in jewelry.
Ruby
Main characteristic of the ruby gemstone is the intense and bright red color that its own
name indicates. This color is due to the metals that compose it, iron and chromium. It
belongs to the family of corundum -like the sapphire- and has a hardness of 9 on the
Mohs scale. It is the hardest stone after the diamond. When extracted from nature, the
ruby has a coarse and rude appearance, but once selected those that are going to be used
in jewelry and after being carved, they adopt that exclusive radiant tone that makes them
so majestic. Take into account that only between 1% and 5% of the rubies extracted from
nature are selected for use in jewelry.
Agate
It can have several shades and colors - depending on the formation of its silica
microcrystals (quartz) - and be transparent, semitransparent or opaque.
The formation of the agates is due to the circulation of underground waters that are in
proximity to the silicon saturations, to the filling of the cavities or interior holes of the
rocks and the dissolution of the materials that are there: shells, bones, etc. This process is
due to the characteristic concentric bands of the agates, which remind us of the knots of
the trunks of trees. The term agate comes from the Greek "Achates", which is the
designation of the river with the same name. His hardness on the Mohs scale is 7.
Aquamarine
Actually it is a variant of it, but pale greenish blue. As the name suggests, its color and
brightness reminds us of sea water. Its name comes from the Latin aqua marina, and
formerly it was also known as the sailor's stone.
Amethyst
As we already know, the amethyst was considered a precious stone, but after the
discovery of mines in Brazil, its rarity was lost and it became part of the group of
semiprecious stones. It is the most quoted quartz variety in the market. Its most
appreciated color is a lilac violet, but can be yellow and even transparent, depending on
the amount of iron it contains. His hardness on the Mohs scale is 7. Despite having gone
down a ladder and be a semiprecious stone, due to its beauty and popularity deserves that,
later, we write an exclusive article for her.
Citrine
It is another variant of quartz, but of lemon yellow color and with its same scale of
hardness, 7 Mohs. Its name comes from the French citron. Formerly, it had come to be
called "quartz topaz" because of its resemblance to topaz, but we must make it clear that
they are two completely different stones.