There are many natural wonders of our world: organic life, stunning scenery and of course, precious stones. Formed when the conditions of heat and pressure were exerted perfectly on particular types of minerals and rock, the gemstones of our world are stunningly beautiful and can be very expensive. Here are the most well known stones and the locations they can be found.
Diamonds Diamonds are perhaps the most well known of all valuable stones and can be found in parts of Africa, America and Australia. They are the hardest stone known to man, and those that are not of a high enough clarity to be made into jewellery are made into industrial drill bits. As well as coming in a clear colour, they can be found in shades from yellow to red which is the rarest.
Rubies Instantly recognisable for their blood red to purple colour, rubies are often given as a symbol of love and passion. They are one of the most precious stones and the finest rubies are thought to come from the mines of Burma, which have been in operation since the 1400’s. If you own a ruby it is advisable to get adequate jewellery insurance.
Sapphires Sapphires’ don’t just come in shades of blue as you may expect; they come in every shade aside from red (that would be a ruby). Areas that are rich in sapphires’ include Montana, USA, Sri Lanka, Australia and Madagascar.
Emeralds Only gems that have vivid green colours and are made from the mineral beryl are considered emeralds. Top quality emeralds are more highly prized than even diamonds. Mined in antiquity by the ancient Egyptian’s, today Emeralds are mined in Colombia, many countries in Africa and various states in the US.
Tanzanite Tanzanite was only discovered in the latter part of the 20th century and can only be found in a small area near Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. This stone is visually stunning owing to the fact that it displays pleochroism. This means that is appears as different colours as you view it from different angles.
Philip Youngwood writes on a number of insurance related topics including jewellery insurance.