gems, jade, Fischer-Book

Pliny’s Naturalis historia is an encyclopedic survey of the natural world compiled in the first century CE, encompassing astronomy, geography, anthropology, zoology, botany, medicine, mineralogy, and the arts. Of particular gemological importance are Books 33–37, which discuss metals, pigments, stones, and precious materials. Book 37 is devoted largely to gemstones and describes their names, appearances, reputed origins, relative values, methods of testing, imitations, engraving, and supposed medicinal or magical properties. Among the materials discussed are diamond, emerald, beryl, opal, sardonyx, amethyst, rock crystal, jasper, turquoise, and numerous other stones, making the work one of the most important surviving ancient sources for the history of gems and the gem trade. This 1469 Venice edition, printed by Johannes de Spira, was the first printed edition of the Naturalis historia and one of the earliest substantial works of classical science to appear in print.

gems, corundum, quality.10, crown jewels, auction, diamond, pearl, jade, beryl, emerald

For centuries, the stories of the world's great jewelry collections have lain hidden within the archives of Christie's, the celebrated auctioneers. From the tragic European queens, Mary, Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette both beheaded to Hollywood royalty such as Elizabeth Taylor, the vaults sparkle with the most famous (and occasionally notorious) names of the last 250 years. Following on from the success of his books on Boucheron: The Secret Archives, Van Cleef & Arpels: Treasures and Legends and Mellerio: Jewellers to the Queens of Europe, author Vincent Meylan explores these remarkable jewelry archives, revealing the mysteries within for the first time. Each sale had its intrigue, each its story to tell. The first auction of jewelry from the British royal family took place at Christie's in 1773, after the death of the Princess of Wales, mother of George III. As the archives reveal, in the subsequent centuries, Christie's has been party to the sale of jewelry by several further generations of British royals, from Lady Patricia Ramsay and the Countess of Southesk through to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. And, in the wake of revolution and regicide further afield, the crown jewels of France, Russia, Bavaria, Serbia, Egypt, India and Spain were all sold at Christie's. Aside from Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary movie star collections of Merle Oberon and Gloria Swanson are also revealed here, as well as the most famous pearls and diamonds in the world; each explored within the context of their owners' remarkable lives. Expertly curating the extensive archives, Vincent Meylan has drawn out the key details of each momentous sale. Original documents from the vaults are reproduced in the book, alongside hundreds of color illustrations of the jewels and their owners. The crown jewels of France, Russia, Bavaria, Serbia, Egypt, India and Spain were all sold at Christie's. Aside from Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary movie star collections of Merle Oberon and Gloria Swanson are also revealed here, as well as the most famous pearls and diamonds in the world; each explored within the context of their owners' remarkable lives. Expertly curating the extensive archives, Vincent Meylan has drawn out the key details of each momentous sale. More than a hundred original documents from the vaults are reproduced in the book, alongside hundreds of color illustrations of the jewels and their owners. Contents: Introduction by François Curiel, Chairman of Christie's Asia-Pacific; 1. Guillotine Diamonds; 2. Murdered Queens; 3. Pomp and Circumstances; 4. Empresses in Exile; 5. The French Court; 6. From Christie's with Love; 7. Soft as a Pearl; 8. Bloody Revolutions; 9. Ladies of the Stage; 10. Gems from the East; 11. Diamonds are Christie's Best Friends; 12. Appendix: Prestigious Provenances.

corundum, quality.10, crown jewels, India.12, gems, Indian lapidary, Indian jewelry

This is a very handsome catalog featuring 14 jewels and jeweled objects from a distinguished collection, including an armlet centered around the famous Daryai-nur (formerly spelled Duria-y-anoor) diamond, which weighs 186 carats. Other highlights include the state sword adorned with a large, fine emerald; a head ornament; various headdress ornaments; an armlet set with engraved diamonds and an engraved emerald; and a diamond-star ornament that once belonged to Empress Eugénie. The plates are vividly colored lithographs, originally used in Hendley’s Indian Jewellery (1906–1909), specifically plate 113. This is a very rare work, believed to have been issued only to close associates or honored guests of the Nawab. For more on the Daryai-nur, see Copeland’s The Diamond Dictionary.

gems, jade, fei cui, pyroxene jade, 翡翠, 绿辉石, 岩石矿物学, 产地标型, 危地马拉

High-quality green jadeite recently discovered in Guatemala is comparable in quality to the finest green jadeite from Myanmar and has become an increasingly important source of premium jadeite jewelry in the Chinese market. However, its mineralogical characteristics and geographic origin indicators remain poorly understood. This study examines high-quality Guatemalan green jadeite rough and finished jewelry widely available in the Chinese market. Their mineralogical and compositional characteristics were systematically investigated using microscopic observation, Raman spectroscopy, and electron microprobe analysis. The results show that the material, marketed as “Maya Green,” is composed predominantly of omphacite, with minor accessory minerals including phlogopite, phengite, and chlorite. Three generations of omphacite (Omp-I, Omp-II, and Omp-III) were identified, with Omp-III forming the principal constituent of the jadeite. Omp-III is characterized by low Mg (average 7.59%) and Fe (average 1.57%) contents, relatively high Cr (average 0.24%), and a jadeite end-member component of XJd > 0.5 (average 0.53). Previous studies have shown that jadeite from different segments of the Motagua Fault in Guatemala displays distinctive mineral assemblages. In contrast, the high-quality Guatemalan green jadeite examined in this study is mineralogically simple, consisting primarily of nearly pure omphacite but containing two distinctive metallic inclusions, native copper and nickeline. These inclusion characteristics, together with the mineral chemistry and mineral assemblage, differ significantly from those of other high-quality green jadeites and provide important mineralogical criteria for distinguishing premium Guatemalan green jadeite from traditional Myanmar jadeite and similar high-quality jadeites from other localities.

gems, corundum, synthetic corundum.7, quench crackled

One common process used to alter gemstones is the “quench-crackle and dye” treatment, in which a heated stone is quenched in room-temperature water, inducing fractures that allow dye to penetrate the stone and change the appearance of its color. This technique was introduced in the 1990s (S.F. McClure and C.P. Smith, “Gemstone enhancement and detection in the 1990s,” Winter 2000 G&G, pp. 336–359) and is typically applied to quartz, cubic zirconia, glass, and other synthetic gemstones due to their low cost and high availability. The Carlsbad laboratory recently received a 12.65 ct laboratory-grown colorless sapphire that showed signs of treatment (figure 15). At first glance, the overall face-up color of this stone suggested it was a Paraíba tourmaline or a low-quality emerald. With the unaided eye, the color-causing dye-filled fractures were faintly visible. The refractive index, specific gravity, and other basic gemological tests identified the material as sapphire. Along with the lack of natural inclusions, testing with X-ray fluorescence revealed the absence of both gallium and iron, confirming that the stone was laboratory-grown. Visible/near-infrared (Vis-NIR) absorption spectroscopy displayed a broad band around 650 nm that did not match natural color-causing components found in corundum (figure 16). This explains the unnatural color of this sapphire. With a microscope, the fractures within this stone displayed characteristic weblike fractures induced by quenching. Unlike naturally occurring fractures, the fractures produced by this type of treatment have uniform spacing and depth, as shown in figure 17.

gems, beryl, emerald, Afghanistan, emeralds, extractivism, geology, mining

This paper traces how geological surveys and prospecting across two centuries shaped Afghanistan’s enduring characterization as a mineral-rich “El Dorado.” By investigating the shift in survey methods from comprehensive terrestrial to aerial reconnaissance, I show how geological knowledge production served purposes far beyond imperial resource identification and extraction. Drawing from historical and ethnographic research, including insights from a current emerald mine operator, I uncover how precious stones’ physical properties and circulating narratives about hidden riches propelled—and continue to propel—a vast network of individuals into mining enterprises: from state authorities and local powerbrokers to foreign geologists, mineral collectors, and international aid organizations. The result is the creation of new narratives about extractable wealth that interweave scientific practices and global market dynamics to transcend conventional periodization such as pre-Soviet, Soviet, and United States. These narratives have emerged from and reinforced asymmetrical relationships in both labor and expertise, ultimately positioning Afghan participants precariously within global mineral markets, made riskier still in times of conflict.

gems, beryl, emerald, Colombia, drug wars

Within the set of regional violence affecting Colombia, the case of the emerald region stands out for its forms, contents and relations with national phenomena such as smuggling, armed subversion, drug trafficking, paramilitarism and criminal organizations. In an area close to Bogotá, an illegal market grew from the 1960s onwards, linked to the trafficking and smuggling of emeralds, thanks to which certain groups accumulated large surpluses. The accumulation of capital around the illegal emerald market was an essential element in the configuration of the social, economic, political, and sociocultural dynamics of the department of Boyacá and the country, and at the same time created an economic circuit that fed back into the State through its institutions, making it difficult to demarcate between the legal and the illegal. The State enthroned the power of mafias, political and economic groups that redirected governmental action in favor of their interests. This book seeks to elucidate how this intertwining between the power of the State and the power of the actors in society manifested itself through the strategies to which they resorted. The book provides an analysis of the violent strategies deployed by the actors in the emerald zone, the municipalities of the region and cities such as Chiquinquirá and Bogotá. The tactics and methods used: murder, massacre, assault, and other forms characterized by cruelty, led to the creation of a scenario of terror and fear. The open struggle for territorial control, where the market materializes, generates a space of confrontation that drags not only the actors involved, but also the population of the region. This scenario is only possible under the understanding of the illegal economy and its mafia-like practices, a weak state that with its actions promoted the conflict. Social relations based on loyalty, subjective relations with the territory, the formation of power structures and relations of domination.

gems, beryl, emerald, gemology, origin determination, Colombia, Brazil, Zambia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Zimbabwe

Emerald is a precious colored gemstone, and its origin has a significant impact on the evaluation of its value. The identification of the origin of emerald has become an important technology in gemstone laboratories and a research hotspot in the field of gemology. The inclusion, spectral characteristics, and chemical composition of emerald are commonly used and critical information for origin determination. However, with the accumulation of research data on the origin of emerald, traditional methods for origin determination are facing challenges. This article systematically summarizes and analyzes the gemological characteristics, inclusion information, spectral features, and major and trace element data of emeralds from various occurrences around the world. Based on a review of previous research results, it systematically elucidates the current research status of emerald origin determination, summarizes the gemological characteristics and inclusion characteristics, reveals the component fingerprint of emeralds from each occurrence, and uses case studies to illustrate the methods of distinguishing common and important origins of emeralds. Although the comparison at a global scale indicates that the inclusion varieties of emerald from different origins are mostly similar, with spectral convergence and significant overlap in component content ranges, novel approaches for origin determination are proposed based on inclusion frequency, UV–VIS–NIR spectral patterns, absorption patterns of HDO and D₂O, and the parameter selection of compositional diagrams.

gems, artificial glass, chrome chalcedony, emerald, beryl, non-destructive techniques, Roman jewellery

The study of gems in Roman-period jewellery from known archaeological contexts offers valuable insights into ancient gem trading routes, manufacturing and decoration techniques, and the popularity or association of specific gems with certain jewellery types. Accurate identification of these gems also enhances the museum’s ability to inform the public. In this study, 19 green-coloured gems embedded in 14 Roman jewellery pieces—dated between the first and fourth centuries CE and held by the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in Greece—were examined. Most of the pieces were discovered during rescue excavations in Roman cemeteries in western and eastern Thessaloniki, with one originating from Edessa in northern Greece. Non-destructive techniques such as optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Vis-NIR spectroscopy were employed, along with micro-EDXRF for chemical analysis. Seventeen of the samples were identified as natural emeralds resembling those from Egypt, while the remaining two were identified as a natural chrome chalcedony and an artificial glass. The origin of the artificial glass remains unknown, while the chrome chalcedony is tentatively linked to Turkey.

gems, emerald, beryl, Russia, Urals, Mariinsky, Kvartalny, Svetlinksy, inclusions, bavenite, pyrite, fluorite, gismondine-Ca, tobermorite, annite, columbite, Ta-NB rutile, muscovite, gahnite, calcite, quartz, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, siderite

In addition to the data of predecessors, the chemical composition of zoned or zoned-sectorial beryl crystals from pegmatites of the Mariinsky and Kvartalny deposits of the Urals emerald mines in the Central Urals, granitic pegmatite of mine no. 242 of the Ilmeny State Reserve and Svetlinsky pegmatite quarry in the South Urals is characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive analysis. The light peripheral zones of prism and pinacoid in crystal sections differ in variations in Al, Fe and Mg contents from the inner zones or areas. The presence of fractures and regenerated fragments of early beryl indicates synmineralization tectonics. In beryl from the Mariinsky deposit, the previously unknown syntactic ingrowths of bavenite and zones of parallel columnar aggregates of co-crystallization of beryl and bavenite, as well as late pyrite, fluorite, gismondine-Ca and tobermorite, are identified. Beryls from mine no. 242 of the Ilmeny State Reserve are yellowish-greenish and bluish with a peripheral white zone and syntactic microingrowths of annite and syngenetic inclusions of columbite and Ta-Nb rutile. Muddy bluish-white beryl regenerated by colorless beryl from the Svetlinsky quarry hosts numerous syntactic inclusions of muscovite, gahnite, calcite, quartz and quartz-muscovite microaggregates with pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, siderite, calcite, and micropores. The syntaxy of mica, quartz and gahnite with beryl is revealed for the first time. Keywords: beryl, zoning, composition, syntaxy, mineral inclusions, granitic pegmatites, Urals emerald mines, Ilmeny Reserve, Svetlinsky pegmatite quarry, Russia.