Stones such as diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire, etc. are known as precious stones. These stones, like gold, have become valuable because of their beauty, durability and rarity. Precious stones were placed in two sets of "precious stones" and "semi-precious stones" since the mid-1800s. The term precious stones is used for diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald. Diamond, which is the hardest mineral, is a crystalline form of carbon. Ruby and sapphire are both made from different forms of another very hard mineral called corundum.
Emerald is made from a type of beryl mineral that is not as hard as corundum but harder than quartz.
The rest of the precious stones are placed in the "semi-precious stones" collection. Semi-precious stones are more than quartz.
The following can be mentioned from the category of semi-precious stones: agate, amber, amethyst, aquamarine, charm stone or aventurine, ymanite, chrysocolla, citrine, garnet. (Ceylon stone), hematite, jade, jasper, black amber, konzite, lapis lazuli, malachite, moonstone, obsidian, onyx (black opal), aquamarine, rhodonite, sunstone, tiger's eye, tanzanite, topaz, turquoise, tourmaline. br>
How to value semi-precious stones
The value of each gemstone is determined by its beauty, size, abundance, cut and popularity. Malachite and lapis lazuli are beautiful, popular, and rare. Attractive examples of these stones are sold at significant prices. Other semi-precious stones such as agate and jasper may be extremely beautiful, but they do not attract the same amount of attention. The reason is that they are not as popular.
The terms "precious" and "semi-precious" are gradually being used less and less in the gemstone trade. The term "semi-precious" is really inappropriate to describe some of nature's most beautiful creations.
World famous gemstones
Some gemstones have a long history and are very famous. Koh Noor diamond is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Koh Noor Diamond was found in 1656 in the area of the ancient Golkanda Fort near Hyderabad, India, and after being passed from hand to hand in the hands of noblemen of the East, including Nader Shah, it was finally presented to Queen Victoria, the Queen of England, in 1850. Since then, this stone is one of the jewels of the British royal crown. The color of this diamond is pink and it is considered exceptional. Darya Noor weighs 182 carats. Darya Noor, which is one of the oldest and most well-known diamonds in the world, is now kept in the Iranian National Jewelry Museum on Ferdowsi Street in Tehran.
According to Iranians, the history of this diamond is related to legends and myths. It is said that it was mounted on the hilt of Afrasiab's sword and Rostam took it during the war with the Turanians. The value and importance of this jewel in the eyes of the Iranians is so great that during the time of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar and when he was defeated, it was sent from the constitutionalists to the embassy. Russia was taken away, but it was once again returned to the government by the constitutionalists. This diamond has been the basis of the Iranian rial.
Diamonds and other precious stones are weighed in terms of carats. For example, Koh Noor diamond weighs 109 carats (each carat, which is the unit of weight of jewelry and pearls, is equivalent to 200 mg.) The largest diamond recorded in history weighs 3106 carats. Most famous diamonds are colorless. But there are exceptions. As mentioned, the sea diamond is light pink, and the color of the Hap diamond, which is now kept in an institution in Washington, DC, is garlic blue. The ones of the same size are more expensive. Large rubies are the rarest gemstones and large emeralds are almost as rare.