Interesting Jewelry Facts

Diamonds:

*Diamonds naturally occur in just about every hue.  They are 99.9% Carbon, the 0.01% that is another mineral determines the color/hue of the Diamond.  

*Diamonds are often hundreds of millions of years old before they reach the surface.  

*Diamonds and Graphite have the same chemical makeup.  What makes the Diamond, a Diamond and Graphite, Graphite is the arrangement of their atoms.  Graphite has more space between the molecules, where Diamonds are tightly bonded.

Metals:

*Did you know all Gold Starts as Yellow Gold? It’s True! Pure Gold, meaning just gold; no alloys added, is Yellow. It’s also really soft! 

*Tungsten Carbide is Corundum, which is also what Sapphires and Rubies are made of.

*Palladium is in the Platinum Family.

*Green Gold is created by combining Gold and Silver.

Gems:

*Pearl, Amber, Coral, and Ivory are Organic Gems; meaning they are formed by a living organism.  

*Black Opals; currently one of the most sought-after Opals, were once regarded as the leftover or garbage Opals.  It wasn't until someone finally cut one that they found the beautiful fire within.  

*Opals can consist of up to 30% water.

*Sapphires come in all the colors of the Rainbow.  The different minerals in the ground that Sapphires are formed in effect what color the sapphire is going to be.

*Red and Pink Sapphires are known as Rubies.  They have the same chemical composition as other colors of sapphire, but were named before technology improved enough to discover this. 

*Citrine and Amethyst are both Quartz.  Occasionally they grow together in the same crystal, forming Ametrine. 

*Ruby is named after its red color deriving from the Latin word “Rubeus”.

*Sapphire is named after it's blue version's color deriving from the Greek word "Sappherios".

*Alexandrite can appear to be green in the daylight and turns a light red in artificial light.

*Alexandrite is named after Alexander II of Russia.  It was originally discovered in the Ural Mountains in Russia in 1830. That particular group of Alexandrite had an intense color change from deep red to deep green, mirroring Russia's military colors. 

*The name Emerald derives from the Greek word "Smaraydos"; meaning Green Stone. 

*Morganite, Aqua Marine, and Emerald are all from the same crystal family; Beryl.  

*Amethyst is available in Purple and Green. 

*Garnet is available in every color, except blue.

*Some Gem Stones when exposed to UV light can change color.  (For example, Kunzite is naturally pink and can fade to a light pink or even clear hue.  This is a permanent change.)  

*The "Galatea Pearl" is a cultured, seeded pearl which has been recognized by GIA it's own Gem Stone.  Classified sperate from pearl. 

If you have an Interesting Jewelry Fact email us we would love to hear it!