Opal gemstone: a world of dinosaurs and martians    

Opal is one of the most spectacular of all precious stones. Many gems can come in different colours, even diamonds can form in a variety of hues. Opal, however, seems to possess most of the colours in one stone!

The name ‘opal’ means ‘precious stone’, taken from the Latin ‘opalus’. It glimmers with many different colours, which means that it has different wavelengths of light refraction. It is a truly fascinating stone that can steal a gaze from admirers of opal jewellery. But what do we know of this stunning gem stone? Where did it come from?

Opal is a silica, not dissimilar to quartz. This means that it was formed from water sediments that are deposited in rock fissures. These deposits solidify over millions of years, which hardens, becoming a mineraloid form. The result is an opaque crystalline shape that becomes a stunning stone for opal jewellery when cut and polished.

Many of the opals found today are believed to have begun their ‘life’ up to 50 million years ago. Earth was in its Cretaceous period, and dinosaurs ruled the planet. In fact, fossils of dinosaur bones, eggs and the remains of other Cretaceous animals have been discovered preserved in opal. The opal that preserves these remains is a non-valuable form of the gemstone, called ‘potch’, which has a dull amber or grey/black colour.

The primary source of opal is in Australia. In fact, 97% of the world’s opal comes from various regions of the country. Most of this is mined in South Australia, at the town of Coober Perdy, where the world’s largest opal was found. It was mined in 1956, and measures a staggering 11 inches in length. This gem was named the ‘Olympic Australis’, which weighs in at 17,000 carats, and is valued at over £1.5 million.

Other parts of the world have also yielded opal deposits, including the US, Slovakia, Turkey, Hungary, Indonesia and Nepal. Perhaps the most remarkable discovery are the opals on Mars. Scientists found these incredible alien gems in 2008. This opened up a whole new discussion about life on the red planet. These opal deposits meant that water could have been on Mars for billions of years more than previously thought, extending the window on the possibilities that the planet could support more complex life forms.

The next time you wear your opal jewellery, cast a thought to where it came from, and its birth before humans walked the Earth…                                                                                                   anythingeverythinghere.com

Crowning Jewels – Six of the World’s Rarest Precious Stones

Diamond, they say, are a girl`s best friend. That’s as maybe; whilst there’s no doubt that normal diamonds are desirable and expensive they’re a long way from the world’s rarest and costliest precious stones. Should you be lucky enough to find a reasonably-sized specimen of any of the six rarest precious stones listed here, it’s safe to say you’ll be able to buy as many diamonds as you like. And then you’ll be a girl’s best friend.

1. Red fancy diamonds
The purest diamonds are colourless. Diamonds which, due to impurity or imperfections in their crystalline structure, are coloured are called ‘fancy’ diamonds and are graded according to their hue. The rarest of all are red diamonds. The largest ever found weighs just 5 carats and was found in Brazil. If that doesn’t sound much, it’s worth mentioning that the price per carat of an uncut pure red diamond can be anything up to $1.9million dollars (about £1.2million). Suddenly those return flights to Brazil don’t seem so expensive.

2. Benitoite
Benitoite is a stunning blue coloured diamond-like precious stone that has, so far, only been discovered in the vicinity of the San Benito River, San Benito California (hence the stone’s name), Arkansas and Japan. Whilst breathtakingly beautiful and still somewhat rare, the good news is that diamond-cut Benitoite gems can be bought for as little as $400 (£250) per carat.

3. Serendibite
Serendib is the original name for Sri Lanka, the origin of this incredibly rare gemstone. Pale greenish-blue in colour you’ll need to search hard to find Serendibite; only three faceted (cut) stones exist in the world and the largest of these weighs just over half of one carat. Should you be successful the search will have been worth it; Serendibite is worth around $14,000 (about £9,000) per carat.

4. Painite
The Guinness Book of World Records names Painite as the rarest gem mineral on earth. Named after Arthur Pain, the gem’s English discoverer, Painite has so far only been found in Myanmar, Indonesia. Painite colours vary from pink to brown and like diamond Painite will appear a different colour when viewed from different angles. Very few Painite crystals are known to exist and even fewer have been cut into gemstones. As a result you can expect to pay around $1,800 (roughly £1,100) per carat for Painite.

5. Red Beryl
Who knew that red was the ‘Holy Grail’ colour for precious stones? Whilst of a composition similar to emerald and aquamarine, red beryl is extremely uncommon and discovery has so far been limited to a small area of Utah, America. The scarcity of red beryl and the financial implications of extracting it dictate a current market value of between $2,000 and $10,000 per carat (£1,200 and £6,300). Interestingly, red beryl of identical chemical composition can be artificially manufactured in a laboratory at minimal expense. Virtually indistinguishable from the genuine natural article ‘mass produced’ red beryl is worth about $7 per carat. No need to tell the wife or girlfriend that though.

6. Taafeite
How rare is Taafeite (tar – fight)? Ooh, roughly one million times rarer than diamond. Discovered in Sri Lanka in 1945 this pale purple gemstone increases in value according to the strength of its colour. Once again, red is rarest – fewer than ten specimens exist. Your everyday run-of-the-mill Taafeite gems are worth a mere $500 to $4,000 (about £300 to £2,500) per carat.

 she12.com

How to Dig For Diamonds & Semi-Precious Stones in the US

Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, is a very unique state park. Located on over 37 acres of field, this is the only diamond deposit site in the world where guests are invited to dig for diamonds and other precious stones and are allowed to keep their treasures. The Strawn-Wagner Diamond, the most flawless gem the American Gem Society has ever certified, was found in 1990 at the park. And the Uncle Sam Diamond was discovered by W.O. Basham in 1924--the diamond weighed in at over 40 carats. If you've decided that you'd like to take a shot at finding your own diamond or precious gem, you'll need just a few things to begin a potential successful dig.

How to Polish Semi Precious Stones

After time, semi-precious and precious gemstones lose their luster, just as with gold and silver. This is because of the dirt and residue that builds up on the stones. The stones can easily regain their polish with a simple cleaning. There is no need to purchase expensive cleaners or polishes, because they contain the same ingredients as the solutions that you already have under your kitchen cabinet. The main ingredient, ammonia, can be found in products such as 409 and Fantastic.

Brand New Ring With 3.59ctw Precious Stones - Genuine Diamonds and Garnet in Yellow Gold

Condition = Brand new

10K Gold

Total gemstone weight = 3.59 ctw

Size = 7

price= app $ 180

---

A680 - Tourmaline $ 1500Pech, Kunar Prov., Afghanistan
miniature - 4.6 x 1.8 x 1.8 cm

  
Bright pastel green Tourmaline crystal from a small lot that first appeared at the 2006 Tucson show. Steep termination, complete all around, undamaged except to two small side crystals which are hidden from view in view of rightmost photo. Transparent with unique green color, 4.6 x 1.8 x 1.8 cm.

---

A442 - Tourmaline $ 2000Paprok, Afghanistan
small cabinet - 7.9 x 1.4 x 1.3 cm

  
Large tri-colored single crystal, the green is a better grass green color than photos. Good transparency, perfect and undamaged save one small area at the base of one side where another crystal was intergrown, 7.9 x 1.4 x 1.3 cm.

---

A827 - Sodalite $ 750Kokcha Valley, Afghanistan
cabinet - 11 x 10 x 7 cm 

  
Deep blue Sodalite crystals on quartz rich matix with Pyrite. Sharp, well defined crystals, 11 x 10 x 7 cm.

---

A814 - Lazurite $ 800Bandakstan, Afghanistan
cabinet - 10.5 x 7 x 9 cm 

  
Huge single crystal well exposed in marble, crystal is well formed and a whopping 4.5 cm wide, rarely seen in this size, 10.5 x 7 x 9 cm.

---

A586 - Vesuvianite $ 150Alchuri, Shigar Valley, Pakistan
thumbnail - 2.9 x 2.5 x 1.5 cm

  
Lustrous "root beer" colored Vesuvianite crystals from a recent find at Alchuri. Largest crystal 1.6 cm wide. Damage to some of the lower front crystals where detached from matrix, size 2.9 x 2.5 x 1.5 cm.

---

A513 - Tourmaline $ 1200Pech, Kunnar Prov., Afghanistan
small cabinet - 5.7 x 0.8 cm

  
Long gem "pencil" Tourmaline from new find in Afghanistan with a pointed, pyramidal termination. Facet quality for the entire length except for a couple internal fracture lines near the base. Glassy luster, complete and undamaged. A tiny quartz crystal is embedded in one termination face. 31.5 carats in weight, 5.7 x 0.8 cm.

---

A516 - Tourmaline $ 1200Pech, Kunnar Prov., Afghanistan
small cabinet - 5.5 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm

  
Long gem "pencil" Tourmaline from new find in Afghanistan with a pointed, pyramidal termination. Facet quality for the entire length. Glassy luster, complete and undamaged. 30.5 carats in weight, 5.5 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm.

---

A517 - Tourmaline $ 600Pech, Kunnar Prov., Afghanistan
miniature - 3.8 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm

  
Long gem "pencil" Tourmaline from new find in Afghanistan with a pointed, pyramidal termination. Facet quality for the entire length. Glassy luster, complete and undamaged. 20 carats in weight, 3.8 x 0.9 x 0.6 cm.

---

A518 - Tourmaline $ 500Pech, Kunnar Prov., Afghanistan
thumbnail - 2.9 x 1.1 x 0.8 cm

 
Thick gem Tourmaline from new find in Afghanistan with a pointed, pyramidal terminations. Facet quality for the entire length except for one internal fracture line. Glassy luster, complete and undamaged. 26.5 carats in weight, 2.9 x 1.1 x 0.8 cm.

---

A583 - Tanzanite Gemstone $ 550Alchuri, Shigar Valley, Pakistan
cabinet - 10.8 x 7.2 mm

  
Fancy cut 4.5 carat green Zoisite gemstone. The stone was cut by Pala International about 10 years ago and appraised at that time at $500. I have kept the price at that value although surely it has appreciated over time. The stone measures 10.8 x 7.2mm. Alchuri sporadically produces these green gems and is the world's second best source of gem Zoisite, also known as Tanzanite.

---

A232 - Kunzite $ 240Kunar, Afghanistan
cabinet - 9.5 x 2.4 x 0.9 cm

  
Double terminated single Kunzite with purple/pink color. This is from a small lot of etched crystals I found with one dealer. The etching gave the crystals a smooth, wet luster, 9.5 x 2.4 x 0.9 cm.

---

A231 - Kunzite $ 300Kunar, Afghanistan
small cabinet - 8.8 x 2.7 x 1.3 cm

  
Double terminated single Kunzite with purple/pink color. This is from a small lot of etched crystals I found with one dealer. The etching gave the crystals a smooth, wet luster, 8.8 x 2.7 x 1.3 cm.

---

A415 - Clinohumite $ 375Ladjuar Madan, Kokcha Valley, Afghanistan
thumbnail - 3 x 3 x 2.5 cm

  
Deep translucent red 2 cm crystal in matrix, these are no longer common, size 3 x 3 x 2.5 cm.

---

A335 - Topaz $ 420Shigar Valley, Pakistan
miniature - 4.5 x 2.3 x 2.3 cm

  
Gem Topaz crystal with a flat termination with beveled edges, size 4.5 x 2.3 x 2.3 cm.

---

A835 - Anatase on Albite $ 600Kharan, Balochistan, Pakistan
cabinet - 10 x 7 x 4 cm

     

Sparkling white Albite blades form a wonderfully contrasting setting for three fine, sharp Anatase crystals to 9mm.  copyright marinemineral.com