What are Gems?

Gemstones -

1) Precious stones
2) Ornaments
3) Spirituality
4) Beauty
5) Status

====================================================================

When one hears of the word "gemstone", one is reminded of at least one of the above descriptions.

What are gemstones? How do you define gemstones? In what situation would you consider something to be a gemstone?

====================================================================

In the Asian context, many people believe that gemstones are related to the 'energy' from the earth. Others associate gemstones with fengshui (风水).

Gemstones such as Amber, can be made into beads and assembled into long bead chains (necklaces or bracelets for chanting purposes). Jade (jadeite or nephrite) are made into bangles or carvings of animals and gods. Some people also believe that placing a geode of a particular colour/type (e.g. amethyst geode) at a specific location in the house or the office may bring abundance of luck and prosperity.

Of course, people use many other different items to represent their beliefs. Above are just some examples.

In the world, gemstones may symbolize one's status. The bigger the gem, the more wealthy you are and the higher your status. Kings own many precious stones and they keep these stones as ornaments, or as royal symbols or just as gifts to other kings. The rich also buy gemstones such as diamonds to keep as part of their heritage.

===================================================================

Now, coming to my main point for this entry!
So how do you recognize something as a gemstone?

1) Rarity

Gemstones are rare. It is often impossible to find two gemstones that looks exactly the same. They are always found one in a million. Miners toil day and night to find one diamond or sapphire or ruby. In the market, it seems as if these stones are everywhere. There are at least ten jewellery shops that sell diamonds and precious stones along Orchard Road. But the story behind every stone is never the same. Good quality stones are rare. Big stones are also rare. So part of the cost of gemstones is due to its rarity.

2) Durability

Anything that is not durable cannot be considered as a gemstone. Diamonds, corundums, beryls, chrysoberyls, quartz are crystals that are durable. Hence, they are fashioned and set in jewelleries. Stones set in jewellery that would be worn frequently must be durable enough so that it will not crack or break and drop off from the jewellery set.

3) Availability

Gemstones are rare. But a certain quality of a particular type of gemstone may be abundant. E.g. B-Jade. These jades are dyed colour jades. They are readily available, and thus the cost decreases. Other than the quality, size of the stone also matters. Generally speaking, the price per carat increases as the size of the stone increases. For example, in a parcel of diamonds, there may be stones as small as 0.02ct or stones as big as 1.0ct. The price per carat of that parcel (when sold as a parcel) maybe $3000/ct. However, when the individual stone is taken out to sell, the small one may go as low as $1000/ct and the large ones may be sold at $9000/ct. This is because small diamonds are more available than the large ones.

4) Acceptability

Diamonds are more acceptable in Singapore context. People from all ages have heard about diamonds. So are gemstones such as rubies, sapphires and jades. However, other stones like garnets, peridots, tourmalines are not as popular and thus not so readily acceptable. As acceptability increases, the demand increases, and thus the value increases.

===================================================================

These are the four main attributes that determines whether a gemstone is a gemstone. What is posted up here is only very brief. All links are obtained from wikipedia.com.

IF you are interested to know more about gemstones in general, feel free to contact us at +65 6745 8542 for courses! (or you can just leave a message here!). The course will be conducted by internationally recognised gemologist Mr. Tay Thye Sun. He has been to many parts of the world to give talks and presentations to world-renown gemologists and researchers. His passion and vast knowledge on gemstones and mineralogy will definitely trigger your inner-self to search out nature's beauty.

Website: www.fareastgem.institute