- Semi-precious stones are actually called gemstones
CIBJO, which is the international jeweler's organisation, has actually banned calling jewelery stones semi-precious.
Instead, CIBJO decided that everything other than precious stones should be called jewelery stones. However, the term semi-precious stone sticks and we gladly admit that we ourselves still use the term semi-precious stone ;-)
- Which stones are called semi-precious stones?
Instead of listing all semi-precious stones below, we instead choose to boil the answer down to put it this way.
There are 4 stones which are referred to as precious stones. It is:
- Sapphire
- Ruby
- Diamond
- Emerald
All stones other than these four are called semi-precious stones. To give you an idea of which stones fall under the category of semi-precious stones, we have made a small list of 10 of the most traded semi-precious stones today and made an accompanying description.
- Amethyst
Amethyst is the birthstone for February. The amethyst belongs to the mineral group quartz . It is described as a very valuable and precious stone.
The amethyst stone comes in a beautiful violet purple, which comes from some impurities in the aluminum and iron that the stone contains.
Like many other types of stone, amethyst has some properties. Amethyst is especially known for its stimulating and calming properties of emotions and mind. It also allows the logic of realness and restraint and is a good communicator of energy, passion, spirituality and ingenuity.
- Jasper
The semi-precious stone Jasper, has its name from the Greek language and means "the spotted stone". Jasper belongs to the group of minerals called chalcedony , but due to its grainy structure, some researchers consider Jasper to be a mineral group by itself.
Jasper actually consists of 20% foreign materials. This also means that the rarest Jasper stones you can find are those that consist of 100% Jasper.
However, these stones are incredibly rare and therefore also a real find if you or someone should come across such a unique stone.
Jasper is said to be a semi-precious stone that provides security, physical energy
It contains foreign materials that make up its line, color and appearance and accounts for 20% of the stone itself. The rarest type of jasper are those that are uniform.
Jasper is mainly a gemstone of liveliness, security and physical energy. Therefore, it is also a good idea to store it in your home, work or car for extra protection.
- Tourmaline
The tourmaline stone takes its name from the Sinhalese word "turamali" which means "stone of mixed colors". It is not a coincidence that it has that name. Tourmaline has a very exclusive spectrum of different colors and in fact it is the only type of semi-precious stone that has exactly the spectrum of colors that it has.
Tourmaline is said to give you a boost in your hard work towards a financially healthy future, in addition it can also help develop your physical strength.
- Jade
Jade covers several different subtypes of semi-precious stones. If you want the purest forms of jade, you should go for the Nephrite and Jadeite types.
Jade is one of the oldest known minerals and was used in ancient times as both a tool and a weapon due to jade's strength.
The name jade comes from the Spanish expression, "piedra de ijada". If we translate it, it means "stone for the pain in the side".
Jade is known as a semi-precious stone that conveys prosperity, money and love and it helps with self-healing.
It is also a source of security against adversity and accidents.
- Opal
Opal is the semi-precious stone for which you can experience the biggest price difference. Opal occurs in different species and each has its own unique flash of colour.
The opal stone originates from places such as Mexico, the USA, Australia and Brazil where there is the largest amount of opal.
If you have opal at home and you have thought before that you are incredibly clever, then it is not entirely surprising. ;-)
Opal is a stone that gives great wisdom to the wearer and at the same time gives the opal's vivid colors a calming energy.
Opal is the birthstone for October.
- Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-green mineral. The name turquoise is taken from the Turkish language and the reason why turquoise gets its name from there is because Turkey was the country that brought the mineral to Europe from Iran.
Turquoise is one of the first minerals that man began to mine. The first to start mining turquoise were the Egyptians, who 4000 years ago mined turquoise on the Sinai Peninsula. The Iranians followed and started mining turquoise 2000 years after the Egyptians started and today Egypt, Iran and the USA are the major sources of Turquoise.
You know, among other things, turquoise from jewelry that the Indians made and still make. Turquoise was manufactured as amulets, which, due to the stone's protective properties against damage and negative energy, were worn by hunters and warriors.
In addition, the stone was a symbol of friendship and one showed great wealth if one wore an amulet with a turquoise stone in it.
- Rose Quartz
The semi-precious stone rose quartz is believed to have its unique glowing pink color from impurities derived from the titanium it contains. These impurities have the rose quartz mineral absorbed in them during formation and therefore this incredibly beautiful pink color can be seen.
It is said that rose quartz is a crystal of dedication and love. Therefore, you will find that it will bring romance, love and relationships into your life.
- Moonstone
Moonstone occurs as an opaque and transparent obligoclase, which is a stone-forming mineral.
The moonstone is a mixture of what is called sheet mica and the rock mineral, plagioclase albite. This mixture means that the moonstone has its incredibly beautiful luminous glow, which often appears as a white or bluish glow.
Exactly the moonstone's magical moonlight glow is what makes it so special and desirable to so many.
The moonstone is known as the traveller's stone and it is said that it is particularly protective of those who choose to travel when the moon is clear in the sky. In addition, it is said that moonstone helps with recognition of love and belonging.
- Blue Topaz
Blue topaz is a semi-precious stone that was discovered by the Egyptians over 2000 years ago. The stone is what is called an aluminum silicate.
If you are lucky enough to find the purest form of blue topaz, do not be surprised that it is not blue. It is in its purest form, completely colourless.
Blue topaz is used when seeking forgiveness, developing endurance or reconciling people's differences.
In addition, it is also an excellent aid against destructive behavior and addiction, as well as good for creating cheerfulness and confidence.
- Pearls
Pearls are a product of a defense mechanism that occurs inside saltwater and freshwater molluscs. This process takes place in such a way that the molluscs accidentally get a foreign body into the shell and it settles in e.g. the mantle tissue of a clam. The mussel then begins a process where nacre is produced in the mussel's mantle tissue, which engulfs the foreign body and voila, within 2-7 years the mussel has produced the finest freshwater pearl.
As you can probably work out, pearls are therefore a product of what is called bi-shelled molluscs. It is mainly the species of clams and oysters that produce these beautiful, precious pearls.
Pearls represent virtue and purity and it is therefore not a coincidence that you can often see brides wearing sumptuous freshwater pearls in their wedding dresses, necklaces or earrings.
In addition, freshwater pearls are referred to as the birthstone for June.
- Are semi-precious stones cheaper than precious stones?
As a general rule, semi-precious stones are a cheaper stone than precious stones. However, there are examples of semi-precious stones which can be more expensive and rarer than precious stones.
Eg. is something like real natural pearls something that is often sold for very large sums of money, yes often for more money than low quality diamonds.
Another example is demantoid, or as they are also called, tsavorite. It is a semi-precious stone that is extremely difficult to find, it is difficult to extract and it cannot be produced in the same quantity and quality as other precious stones. This means that tsavorite of a high carat and quality is significantly rarer than a diamond.
Below we have found a list of the most expensive traded semi-precious and precious stones:
10 most expensive traded gemstones:
Tanzanite
DKK 7680 per carat
Black Opal, “Royal One”
DKK 60,800 per carat
Red Beryl
DKK 64,000 per carat
Mouse gravity
DKK 224,000 per carat
Alexandrite
DKK 448,000 per carat
Emerald, “Rockefeller Emerald”
DKK 1.9 million per carat
Ruby, “The Sunrise Ruby”
DKK 7.5 million per carat
Pink Diamond, “Pink Star”
DKK 7.6 million per carat
Jadeite, “The Hutton-Midivani Necklace”
DKK 19.2 million per carat
Blue Diamond, “The Oppenheimer Blue”
DKK 25.3 million per carat
- What defines a gemstone?
The most frequently mentioned gemstones are ruby, emerald, sapphire and diamond. This grouping of gemstones dates back to ancient Greece and is based on how rare the stones were and whether they had a religious significance.
It was therefore neither a chemical nor a geological factor that determined whether the stones were precious stones or not.
However, all four minerals are of a distinct crystal form and a certain transparency.
In addition to the four mentioned, you may have also experienced that some minerals and mineral-like minerals have been included in this category before. It is most often amethyst and chrysoberyl as well as certain pearls and opals, which are not actually minerals.
Definition of gemstone today:
Today, a mineralogist decides whether a stone is a gem or not. This is based on the four c's which in English stand for:
Color, Cut, Clarity, Carat.
When using carat for gemstones, it is a measure of the weight of the stone and not, like gold, a designation of the gold's purity. An IMPORTANT difference here, folks :-)
In addition to a high carat, which for natural reasons gives the stone a higher value, the clarity of the stone's colors determines how fine the cut is and how clean the stone is. Purity is judged based on how many visible inclusions the stone has.
So which gemstone is the largest in the world? - you might be thinking...
The Golden Jubilee is the world's largest faceted diamond. The orange-brown diamond was found back in 1985 and has a, hold on, one carat of a whopping 545.67 and is today part of the crown jewels of Thailand.
Cullinan 1 is another large diamond that you may have heard of. It is better known as the "Star of Africa" and is a diamond of a whopping 530.20 carats.
The Cullinan 1 diamond is cut from a record-breaking rough diamond, which had a total carat of 3106.75.
Today, the "Star of Africa" can be found in the English crown jewels.
- How many different semi-precious stones are there really in the world?
There are many different semi-precious stones and we have been kind enough to list them for you below.
Then you can go exploring and see if you know all 169 different types of semi-precious stones.
Have we remembered all the semi-precious stones? - We are not quite sure of that ;-)
- Actinolite
- Adamite
- Agate
- Alexandrite
- Algodonite
- Amblygonite
- Analcim
- Anatas
- Andalusite
- Anglesit
- Anhydrite
- Apophyllite
- Aragonite
- Amber
- Amethyst
- Ametrine
- Ammolite
- Andalusite
- Apatite
- Eyelite
- Axenite
- Azurite
- Barite
- Bayldonite
- Benitoite
- Beryl
- Berylonite
- Bismuth tantalite
- Housing
- Boracite
- Bornite
- Brazilianite
- Breithauptite
- Brookite
- Brucite
- Bustamite
- Aquamarine (Beryl)
- Heliodor (Beryl)
- Morganite (Beryl)
- Emerald (Beryl)
- Red Beryl (Beryl)
- Calcite
- Canasit
- Cancrinitis
- Cassiterite
- Catapleiit
- Celestite
- Ceruleite
- Cerussite
- Chabazite
- Chrysoberyl
- Chrysocolla
- Chalcedony
- Chambersit
- Charoite
- Chicken-Blood Stone
- Childrenitis
- Chiolite
- Chromite
- Cinnabar
- Citrine
- Cobaltite
- Colemanite
- Coral
- Cordierite
- Corundum
- Covellite
- Creed
- Crocoite
- Cryolite
- Cuprite
- Datelite
- Danburite
- Diamond
- Diaspora
- Diopside
- Dioptas
- Dicksonite
- Dolomite
- Dumortierite
- Ekanite
- Eosphorite
- Epidote
- One-time
- Ettringite
- Euclas
- Eudialyte
- Euxenite
- Feldspars
- Fergusonite
- Fluorite
- Fossil Organisms
- Friedelite
- Gadolinite
- The yarn
- Gaylussit
- Grandidierit
- Gypsum
- Hambergite
- Hauyn
- Hematite
- Hemimorphite
- Herderite
- Hodgkinsonitis
- Holtit
- Howlite
- Huebernite
- Humid
- Whoreolite
- Whorlbutit
- Hyperite diabase
- Idocras (Vesuvianite)
- Inderite
- Iolite
- Jade
- Jasper
- Jeremejevit
- Jet
- Chamber rite
- Choir
- Kornerupin
- Kurnakovite
- Kyanite
- Labradorite
- Long-leggedness
- Lapis Lazuli
- Lawsonite
- Lazulite
- Legrandite
- Lepidolite
- Leucite
- Linarite
- Ludlamite
- Magnesite
- Malachite
- Mali Garnett
- Manganotantalite
- Marcasite
- Meliphanite
- Mellitus
- Microlite
- Milaritis
- Millerite
- Mimetite
- Moldavite
- Monazite
- Mordenite
- Moonstone
- Black Onyx
- Opal
- Pearl, Freshwater
- Pearl, Saltwater
- Peridot
- Quartz
- Rubellite (Tourmaline)
- Ruby (Corundum)
- Sapphire (Corundum)
- Scapolite
- Sphalerite
- Sphene (Titanite)
- Spinel
- Sugilite
- Oregon Sunstone (Feldspar)
- Tanzanite (Zosite)
- Tiger's Eye
- Topaz
- Tourmaline
- Turquoise
- Zircon
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