| Some of the most beautiful jewelry is made using | | | | stone. Nephrite is either green or creamy in color, |
| semi-precious gem stones. A gem stone is a | | | | while jadeite comes in a variety of colors. In New |
| mineral, a rock or a petrified material that is cut | | | | Zealand, where nephrite jade is known as |
| or faceted and polished before it can be used in | | | | greenstone and not gem stone, the Maoris |
| jewelry. | | | | consider it a treasure. In traditional Maori designs, |
| Some gem stones are fairly rare, such as | | | | this gem stone is still widely used to make |
| amazonite, which is a bright green variety of | | | | jewelry. Jade is the official gem stone of British |
| feldspar. Formerly it was obtained almost | | | | Columbia. Many minerals are sold as jade. These |
| exclusively from Russia, but recently it was found | | | | can certainly be used as gem stones, but are not |
| in Colorado and Madagascar. Its limited occurrence | | | | the real thing. |
| makes it prized as a gem stone. | | | | Turquoise is another gem and ornamental stone. |
| Citrin, also called citrin quartz, is an amber colored | | | | The name is a very old word , probably derived |
| gem stone. | | | | from the French meaning Turkish stone, although |
| Aventurine is commonly a green gem stone, but | | | | turquoise was not found in Turkey, but was |
| can be orange, brown, yellow or grey. The rarest | | | | traded there. Iran and the Sinai Peninsula were |
| is red and highly prized as a gem stone. | | | | sources of very fine turquoise. In the United |
| Cordierite is a magnesium, iron and aluminum | | | | States, the deposits were mined by |
| cyclosilicate, the transparent variety of which is | | | | pre-Columbian Native Americans. Nowadays there |
| iolite, which is used as a gem stone. The name, | | | | is some imitation turquoise, which is so good, that |
| iolite, is derived from the Greek word for violet. | | | | only an expert could tell the difference between |
| Lapis lazuli is a stone which has been classified as | | | | the real stone and the fake! |
| a gem stone. This deep blue gem stone dates | | | | It's possible that rings and bracelets and necklaces |
| back to the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. | | | | made with these semi-precious gemstones may |
| Jade is an interesting gem stone. The name is | | | | not be as valuable as say, gold or diamonds, but |
| applied to two different silicate materials. It is a | | | | they can be exquisite and highly prized. Of course, |
| very tough material and was first used for axe | | | | if the diamond is flawed, it may be impressive to |
| heads, knives and weapons. It was only when | | | | the friends and acquaintances of a newly engaged |
| other materials were found that could be used for | | | | damsel, but is not of great value. |
| these purposes that jade become a prized gem | | | | |