Hemimorphite is the Featured Gemstone

Hemimorphite is a lovely blue gem named for the half formed way (hemi) its crystals form. The "faces" that grow on one end differ in the angle and position of the "faces" on the other end. It can grow in two forms. One form is a glassy bladed crystal, while the other form resembles a bunch of grapes, known as botryoidal. It is a zinc silicate stone.


Hemimorphite is a fairly soft stone. On the Moh scale it is a 4.5 to 5. Colors can range from white to a bluish green, with blue being the most common. Temperature change can cause this stone to become pyroelectric and it will give you a small shock when picking it up.


Hemimorphite is found in many locations. Areas along the Belgian-German border, Poland, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Elkhorn, Montana, Leadville, Colorado, and the Organ Mountains in New Mexico. It is also found in several areas of Mexico,England and Zambia. It is mined from the upper parts of zinc and lead ores.

It is believed that hemimorphite can boost self esteem, bring luck and help to increase a perceptive mind. It is associated with the heart chakra and with healing ulcers, blood diseases and cellular disorders. It is also thought that hemimorphite fosters enthusiasm, optimism and high energy.

Some hemimorphite I have.

Onyx is the Gemstone of the Week

Onyx is a form of chalcedony quartz mined in Brazil, India, California and Uruguay. Black onyx is the most common form of the stone on the market today. Onyx is most often a solid color, although there is white banded onyx called sardonyx. Onyx comes in many colors, but the most popular is black onyx. The use of onyx as carvings and jewelry goes back to the second dynasty of Egypt and it is mentioned in the Bible, and was known and used in ancient Rome and Greece. It has been commonly used in cameos. It is also used to create marble tile used in houses today. The quartz in the onyx gives the marble tiles a bit of extra durability.

The large majority of black onyx on the market today has been heat treated or dyed to enhance the color. On the Moh scale, Onyx is a 7. The name comes from the Greek work "onyx" which means claw or fingernail.

According to legend, onyx came into being one day when Venus was asleep, Cupid cut her fingernails and left the clippings laying on the ground. Since no part of a heavenly body can die, the gods turned the clippings into stone which became known as onyx.

It is believed that onyx can help change habits, aid with insomnia, and eliminate negative thinking. It is also believed to eliminate stress and apathy. It is also said that onyx increases happiness and intuition. It is said that onyx can help with objective thinking and spiritual inspiration.

Green Onyx

Sardonyx

Amber is the Gemstone of the Week

Even though Amber is considered to be a gemstone, it is really fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for it's natural beauty and color for thousands of years. Amber deposits have been found that range in age from 360 and one million years old. As resin oozed from now extinct conifer trees and pine trees, bits of plant life, insects and other small objects became trapped in it. As time passed, the resin became encased in dirt and debris and eventually fossilized. In order to be called Amber, the resin must be several millions years old. Recently hardened resins are called copals. Amber is perhaps one of the oldest gemstones used for human adornment. It has been found in European grave sites dating back to 8000 B.C..

Heating Amber will cause it to soften and eventually burn. if heated over 200 C, it decomposes, leaving behind a black residue known as "amber colophony" or "amber pitch", which, when dissolved in turpentine or linseed oil forms "amber varnish" or "amber lac".

Amber is found in many different colors. Besides the usual yellow-orange-brown that is commonly associated with the name Amber, it is also found in red, also called cherry amber, green amber and even blue amber, which is rare and highly sought after. The most highly prized Amber is transparent. Opaque Amber contains many tiny bubbles and is referred to as honey amber. Although all Dominican Amber is florescent, the rarest Dominican Amber is blue amber. It turns blue in natural sunlight or any other whole or partial ultraviolet light source. Only about 100kg a year are found which is the main reason it is so valued. Amber is a soft gemstone, on the Moh scale it is a 2 1/2-3 and care must be taken when wearing it to avoid scratching or chipping it. Quite a bit of the Amber found in jewelry today is reconstituted which makes a stronger stone. It is made by combining small bits of Amber with linseed oil, and compressing it. One way to tell if a stone is reconstituted is to look at the bubbles in it. Reconstituted stones have elongated bubbles, while natural stones have spherical bubbles. Sometimes the reconstituted Amber is called ambroid.

Gem quality Amber is most often from the Baltic Sea area. About 90% of the world's Amber supply comes from here. Baltic Sea Amber has a high market value. Amber is also found in the Dominican Republic, Russia, Myanmar (Burma), Germany, Romania, Sicily, and Malaysia.

Amber is said to bring wisdom, purification, energy and balance. It is believed to enhance calmness, patience, strength and healing. It is also believed that Amber draws negative energy out of the body and purifies the heart and spirit.

Blue Amber

Larimar is the Gemstone this Week

As far as gemstones go, Larimar is a relative newcomer to the scene and still not widely used. It was first discovered in 1916 by Father Miguel Domingo Fuertes Loren, but when he filed for a mining claim, it was rejected. Legend has it that it was then forgotten. In 1974, a Peace Corps volunteer, Norman Rilling and a Dominican Republic native, Miguel Menendez, found some Larimar on the beach. The locals had long believed that Larimar came from the sea and gave it the name Blue Stone. The stones found on the beach were alluvial sediment which had been washed into the sea by the Bahoruco River. The tumbling action of the water polished the stones so the beautiful blue showed and made the easily distinguishable from the river rocks. An upstream search revealed the source and soon, the Los Chupaderos mine was formed. The name comes from a combination of Larissa, "Lar", which is the name of Menendez's daughter and "mar" which is Spanish for sea.

Larimar is a variety of pectolite, an acid silicate hydrate of calcium and sodium. Pectolite is found around the world, but none have the distinct volcanic blue that Larimar has. Pectolite is usually a soft, delicate mineral composed of dense, radiating fibers, but sometimes the fibers are tough and interlock to form a much stronger stone. The blue color is the result of cobalt substitution for calcium and coppper. It is rarely a solid blue, but has white interconnecting lines and sometimes rough circles. Larimar is only found in the Dominican Republic. The more intense the blue and the contrasts in the stone, the more valuable it is. Larimar is photosensitive and the blue will fade if exposed to strong sunlight for a long period of time.

Larimar is not treated or enhanced, but sometimes white gemstones are dyed to look like Larimar.

On the Moh scale, it has a hardness of between 5-7, with the darker blue stones being closer to 7.

It is believed that Larimar can help view events from different perspectives, and can heal the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual body. It is also said to be helpful for those with stress and anxiety. Larimar is said to represent peace and clarity, healing and love.
 
These are photos of some earrings I made for myself using some Larimar 10mm beads and some facted Aquamarine. The stones were a gift from a wonderful friend who was clearing out someof her stash. Thanks, Margaret, of Bohowirewrapped .

Garnet is the Gemstone of the Week

Garnet is the birthstone for January and the gemstone of the week. Garnet comes in many hues, except for blue, and most varieties are named for their color. The deep maroon color is the color associated with January and is called Almandine garnet. Garnets are one of the largest families of gemstones and the coloring depends on the minerals in the stone. It is a popular gemstone and is suitable for all types of jewelry since it has a hardness of 7.5 on the Moh scale.

The word "garnet" comes from the Latin word "granatum" which refers to the pomegranate and the color red. The use of Garnet as beads and in inlay work goes back as far as 3100 B.C. and 2300 B.C. in Egypt. Garnets have been found entombed with Egyptian pharaohs as a prized possession for the after life. Red Garnets have been prized by nobility across the ages. With the discovery of the famous Garnet mines in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia in 1500 A.D., Bohemia became a center for jewelry manufacturing and gem cutting. This increased the demand for the gem in Europe and increased the price. The popularity of this gemstone started to fade in the 1800's.

Enhancements are usually heat treatments or irradiation. Some garnets are dyed. When you are shopping for garnets, remember, all treatments must be disclosed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Thank you for reading and following my blog. I have learned a lot writing the gemstone blog posts and I hope you have enjoyed reading them and maybe gotten some useful information from them.



I'm going to resume the gemstone blog posts after the first of the year. I'm taking a little holiday break. I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, or if you celebrate a different holiday, a Happy Holiday Season. Please celebrate safely. May the new year bring you peace and happiness.


Sue

Zircon is the Gemstone of the Week

Zircon is considered to be one of the birthstones for those born in December. Although this stone has been known since the Middle Ages, the oldest known Zircons, from Western Australia are 4.4 billion years old. There are several theories as to where the name comes from, but the most common one is that it comes from Persian word "zargun" which means gold colored, even though Zircons come in several different colors. Clear or colorless Zircons can rival diamonds for sparkle and shine. They are often considered to be a cheap substitute for diamonds, but can often be a valuable gemstone.

Zircons are a dense gemstone which means that the carat size of this gemstone will look smaller than the same carat size of a different gem. It is a remarkable mineral in that it can be found in many different types of rock. It is one of the most widely occurring minerals and can be found throughout the world. On the Moh scale, it has a hardness of 7.5, so it is a fairly strong gemstone.

Natural Zircon comes out of the Earth in brown, yellow, green and bright red. Some of the trace elements that give the stones their color can sometimes be radioactive. These stones are heat treated and that can produce the much desired blue color, along with white, purple, colorless, orange an pink. Heat treating is the most commonly used enhancement for Zircons. It is done to stabilize the stones and for coloring. Heat treating semi transparent grayish brown and reddish brown stones in an oxygen free environment will give it a blue color. If the same stones are then heat treated with air, the color will turn golden brown. Almost all colorless and blue Zircons are heat treated.


Zircon occurs in beach sand in many parts of the world, especially in Australia, India and Brazil. Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam are major sources of Zircon. It can also be found abundantly in Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. It is also found in Quebec, Tanzania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Madagascar.



It is believed that Zircon helps one be more at peace with oneself, bring honor and and wisdom and to aid in peaceful sleep. It is also thought to promote inner renewal, foster independence, spirituality and friendliness, and bring inspiration.


Hindu poets wrote of the Kalpa Tree. This ultimate gift to the gods was a gemstone tree with leaves of green Zircon.

Natural Zircon

Photo courtesy of R.Weller/Cochise College

Blue Cambodian Zircon