Tag Archives: amber

Organic Gemstone

Organic Gemstone

Organic Gemstone

Organic gems are a group of gem stones whose creation is associated with living organisms which are formed from once living material changed over time into a stone.

Organic gemstone jewelry was popular with the Victorians in the 19th century. Shells were carved to make cameos, delicate seed pearls were used to make elegant parrures or sets of jewelry consisting of pendant earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Coral was also fashioned into parrures or coral beads with red and pale pink being the most popular colors.

Some stones which we refer as ‘Gemstones’ were once living organisms or were formed by living organisms. In other words, Organic gemstones are gems that are derived from animals, plants or other organisms while they are living or after they die and the usually do not have cleavage as do rock gemstones.

There are several types of Organic Gemstones used to make Gemstone Jewelry. The gems in this category are pearl, amber, coral, ivory, ammolite, shell and jet.However, the most popular among these stones is Pearl. Red Coral is also a popular choice of many.

Types of Organic Gemstones

Amber

Amber is the fossilized resin of a tree. The color of Amber varies from transparent to semitransparent and generally from light yellow to dark brown, but can be orange, red, whitish, greenish-brown, blue, or violet. This stone resembles and is named after ambergris, a sweet smelling secretion of the sperm whale once used in perfume making. Amber has a hardness of 2-2.5 Mohs scale. Amber was the much preferred jewelry of Victorian era. This gemstone is considered as a good luck stone.

Jet

Jet is a shiny black stone and is formed from the remains of wood in a similar process by which coal is made. Jet is also called lignite. This stone has a hardness of 2.5-4 Mohs scale. This stone became extremely popular as mourning jewelry after Queen Victoria wore it on the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861. This stone is considered as a gem for spiritual enlightenment.

Ammolite

Ammolite is the fossilized remains of ancient sea anemones. Ammolite is similar to the opal in appearance and often has a cracked or mottled surface. This cracking can give the stone the look of ‘dragon scales’ or a stained glass window.

Pearl

Pearl is considered the king of all organic gems and is formed inside the shells of oysters and mussels. Pearl has a hardness of 2.5-4.5 in the Mohs scale. Natural pearls come in various shapes: round, pear, drop, egg, and others. They also come in various colors, such as white, cream, light rose, cream rose, black, gray, bronze, blue, dark blue, blue green, red, purple, yellow, and violet. Pearl Jewelry is considered as the Symbol of Beauty and Elegance and was part of the royal jewelry.

Ivory

Usually the elephant’s tusk is referred to Ivory but these days’ teeth of hippopotamus, walrus, wild boar and some other mammals also serve as ivory. Ivory jewelry was popular during the Victorian period. Since many animals that have ivory tusk were killed to get their tusk the import and sale of ivory is strictly banned in many countries of the world.

Coral

Coral is the skeletal remains of marine animals. Coral has a hardness of 2.6 to 2.7 in the Mohs scale and is found in semi translucent to opaque and occurs in white, pink, orange, red, blue, violet, golden, and black. Coral is used to make figurines, cameos, carvings and beads

Everything is beautiful…

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Amber, A Good Luck Stone

Amber Stone

Amber

Amber is an Organic Gemstone. It is actually a naturally occurring hard and translucent fossilized resin found in some ancient trees. The resin must be several million years old to be called amber. Amber is found in a variety of colors and hues including the black, golden yellow, orange, milky white, reddish orange, green, violet or brownish yellow. Though Amber is considered a gemstone it is technically not a Gemstone or mineral. Amber is said to derive its name from Middle English amber or from Medieval Latin ambra or from Arabic anbar ambergris.

The Greeks and Romans used amber extensively in their jewelry and crafts. It is said to have been in existence even in the Stone Age and is one of the oldest found stones. The history of amber can be traced back to ancient times. Amber was also used to make varnish and incense. Amber is found in several places including Germany, Sicily, England, Myanmar and Mexico.

Amber deposits have been found that range between 360 and one million years old and belong between the Carboniferous and Pleistocene geological periods. As sticky resin oozed from ancient pine trees, small insects, plant material, feathers and other small objects in the path of the flow became entrapped. Over time, the resin was encased in dirt and debris and through a process of heat and pressure it fossilized to become amber.

Amber increases in value with the rarity and perfection of the entrapped object. Complete insect specimens are rare though and command top price.

Amber is very soft, between 2 1/2-3 on the Mohs scale and can be scratched easily. Bracelets and rings with amber cabochons should be worn with care to prevent marring the stone. Much of the amber used in commercial jewelry is actually reconstituted which makes it harder and less prone to scratching. Reconstituted and processed amber usually doesn’t have natural inclusions.

Amber gemstone was believed to possess magical power, since it was warm to touch, light weight, produced static electricity when rubbed and smelled sweet when heated. Wearing amber as an amulet was highly recommended to safeguard the wearer from evil and from negative energy. It suits well for those born under the Zodiacs Signs Leo, Virgo and Capricorn. It is said to protect health and reduce goiter. It is used to treat eye disorders, glandular swellings of the throat and lungs, teeth disorders, bronchial disorders, headache, rheumatic pains, stress, cold and jaundice. Amber gem stone balances endocrine and digestive system. It relieves stomach pain and improves liver and kidney functioning. Amber is said to enhance decision making, memory, luck and strength.

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