Crystal and stones » Amber

Amber as talisman

precious stones — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:10:08 +0000

Amber as talisman.

Amber has from the most remote ages been familiar to humanity, ornaments in this material having come down to us, shaped by men of the Stone Age, thus proving its antiquity.

Many fanciful theories were given in bygone days with regard to its origin, amongst others the historian Nicias stating [...]

Silicates

precious stones — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:14:00 +0000

The chief of these are the garnets, crystallising in the cubic system, and anhydrous.

The garnet is usually in the form of a rhombic dodecahedron, or as a trisoctahedron (called also sometimes an icosatetrahedron), or a mixture of the two, though the stones appear in other cubic forms.

In hardness they vary from [...]

Yellow Stones

precious stones — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:02:53 +0000

Yellow Stones

Hardness. Specific Gravity.

Amber 2-1/2 1.000 Beryl 7-3/4 2.709-2.810 Chrysoberyl 8-1/2 3.689-3.752 Chrysolite 6-7 3.316-3.528 Corundum (the yellow variety known as “Oriental Topaz”) 9 3.90-4.16 Diamond 10 3.502-3.564 Garnets (various) 6-1/2-7-1/2 3.4-4.5 Hyacinth (a form of Zircon) 7-1/2 4.7-4.88 Quartz (Citrine) 7 2.658 Sapphire 9 4.049-4.060 Spinel 8 .614-3.654 Topaz (for “Oriental [...]

Magnetic and Electric Influences

precious stones — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:35:43 +0000

The word “electricity” is derived from the Greek “elektron,” which was the name for amber, a mineralised resin of extinct pine-trees. It was well-known to the people of pre-historic times; later to the early Egyptians, and, at a still later date, we have recorded how Thales -the Greek philosopher, who lived about the close of [...]

Heat-rays to precious stones

precious stones — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:30:16 +0000

Another method of isolating certain stones is by the action of heat-rays.

Remembering our lessons in physics we recall that just as light-rays may be refracted, absorbed, or reflected, according to the media through which they are caused to pass, so do heat-rays possess similar properties.

Therefore, if heat-rays are projected through precious [...]

Jet to Amber

precious stones — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:19:31 +0000

Group G. -Stones whose specific gravity is under 2.00.

Jet 1.348 Amber 1.000

Specific gravity of gemstones

precious stones — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:53:09 +0000

The fixing of the specific gravity of a stone also determines its group position with regard to weight; its colour and other characteristics defining the actual stone.

This is a safe and very common method of proving a stone, since its specific gravity does not vary more than a point or so in different [...]