Gems for the Joy of Mankind

“THEY are exquisite! It is unbelievable! You mean you found them yourself?” More compliments followed as the happy gem hunter shook her head to show off her natural ruby earrings to her admiring friends.

The stones were the fortunate result of several hours’ work at a roadside ruby mine in North Carolina. Others are experiencing the joy of finding their own gemstones, and some proceed to polish and mount them in jewelry of their own design. Appropriately, the word “jewel” is thought to come from an Old French word jouel, meaning “joy.”

From ancient times people have delighted in decorating themselves and their possessions with jewels. As human societies developed into powerful political and religious systems, they used the rarest and most magnificent gems as symbols of this power.

The 317-carat Cullinan II diamond and the famous Black Prince’s rubya are the centers of splendor in the imperial state crown of England. The English scepter also contains one of the world’s most fabulous diamonds, the 530-carat Star of Africa.

Another impressive gem collection is the Russian crown jewels in the Kremlin armory in Moscow. A third collection worth an enormous fortune is in the Iranian royal treasury.

The significance of gems sometimes transcends the temporal and emerges into the spiritual. There were 12 gemstones on the breastpiece of the high priest of ancient Israel. (Ex. 28:15-20) On these stones were inscribed the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. The foundations of the spiritual temple of Revelation were represented as being adorned by gem materials. (Rev. 21:19-21) Finally, the eternal Sovereign, Jehovah, chose the radiance of the blue sapphire to suggest some of the glory of his throne.—Ezek. 1:26.

Although some of the great gemstones have been associated with drama in faraway places, many gem materials can be found in familiar surroundings. Some may even be near your own home. The oceans provide gems such as pearls and precious corals. Few people think of diamonds as being found in the United States. Some might mention finds in Arkansas. However, who would think of diamonds as coming from Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina? West Virginia’s famous pale-green diamond, the Jones diamond, was loaned to the Smithsonian Institution for several years and is reportedly worth $25,000.

How Gemstones Were Formed

Out of thousands of minerals in the earth, only a small number are considered gemstones, and only a portion of these find their way into the gem trade. Most gemstones are rare, precious minerals, usually durable, and especially prized for their unique, eye-catching ability to manipulate light. When gemstones are cut and polished, their eye appeal is enhanced and they are then called gems. The word “gem” comes from the Latin word gemma, meaning “an engraved stone.”

Most naturally occurring gemstones are crystalline, that is, their atoms have an orderly arrangement. There are only a limited number of atomic possibilities: cubic, monoclinic, triclinic, tetragonal, hexagonal, and orthorhombic. Knowing which gemstones fall into which crystalline system is a helpful method of identification. Notable exceptions that are not crystalline are pearls, coral and amber. Pearls and coral are animal related, while amber results from the fossilization of the resin from ancient trees. The multicolored, iridescent opal falls in a special class.

When we investigate how these gemstones were formed, we are deeply impressed with the reasons why they are so rare. In the dim past of the earth’s genesis, the earth was probably at one time a molten sphere. As the sphere gradually cooled, the lighter siliceous materials floated to the surface. As these materials hardened, they formed a thin, rocky crust sometimes called the lithosphere. It is now believed by some that this crust has separated into large lithospheric plates.

At times hot magma from the earth’s interior extrudes up through these plates, particularly at their interacting edges. These eruptions often result in volcanoes. The volcanic material usually cools quickly, forming relatively small crystals of little gem value. However, there is evidence that on occasion this magma protrudes only partway into this crust, cooling slowly. Some of these protrusions are called pegmatites, a geological formation sometimes containing gemstones.

At times these formations were reheated and slowly cooled a number of times. This reheating and slow cooling tends to cause a segregation of like chemicals. If these highly unlikely circumstances occur, and if just the right combination of chemicals is present and they undergo just the right heating cycles for large crystals to form, then and only then do gemstones result.

Even though formed, they must still somehow be exposed by some means such as eruption or erosion. That any of these large gemstones were ever formed and found is in itself quite remarkable.

The More Desirable Gemstones

If we investigate a few of the more important gemstones, we can get some appreciation of their unique innate properties, particularly their ability to perform marvelous feats with light. In the heavenly canopy, “star differs from star in glory.” (1 Cor. 15:41) In much the same way each gemstone seems to be endowed with its own special kind of radiant splendor.

Diamond. If any gemstone could be called the sovereign, the diamond would be the choice of many. This stone, formerly called the adamant (Greek for untamable) has been known and valued in the Orient from ancient times. However, it was introduced into the Western world only as recently as the 17th century. The gem diamond, a very pure form of the inexpensive element carbon, undergoes a metamorphosis, changing into that beautiful allotropic form at extremely high temperatures and pressures. However, under these conditions carbon tends to combine with many of the chemicals of the earth, thus making it amazing that any diamonds are found at all.

Its claim to a kingly position is partially justified by its being the hardest of all natural materials. The mineral talc is 1 on the Mohs’ scale of hardness, while the diamond is 10, the highest. However, the quality that makes the diamond outstanding as a gemstone is its amazing ability to disperse white light into a beautiful shower of rainbow colors.

Sapphires and Rubies. If the diamond is the ruler of the gemstones, then the sapphires and rubies are the crown princes. Chemically, these gemstones are aluminum oxide in a beautiful crystalline form. Actually they are brothers, both constituting the mineral corundum. They differ only in the trace elements that they contain. These trace elements are called chromophores and give them their distinctive colors.

Sapphires come in many colors, from cornflower blue to black, but the blue color is most often associated with the sapphire. When the trace element is chromium, the color is red and the gemstone is called a ruby. The most highly prized is the pigeon-blood red, that is, a red with a purplish tinge.

Sometimes sapphires and rubies contain microscopic needles of titania that follow the 60- and 120-degree crystalline structure. If these stones have sufficient quality, and are properly polished, they produce gorgeous six-pointed stars when exposed to light. This remarkable property is known as asterism and can greatly enhance the value.

Sapphires and rubies are next to diamonds in hardness, being 9 on the Mohs’ scale. This scale is not really linear; the diamond is much harder by comparison.

Emerald. The emerald is not far behind the two crown princes in prestige and value. A fine emerald, 8 on the Mohs’ scale, can compare favorably to some diamonds. The emerald is just one member of the beryl family of stones. All are beryllium aluminum silicate. The special green color that distinguishes the emerald from other members of the family is caused by chromium and sometimes by iron. If only iron is present in the beryl, the resulting color is the familiar aquamarine. If lithium oxide is present, the color may be pink and the stone is called morganite after the famous banker J. P. Morgan.

Emeralds have been found in many places, from Peru to Russia, from Africa to North America. A mine is even located near the area in North Carolina where the rubies were found for the earrings mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Other important gem materials are alexandrite, jade, amethyst, opal, pearl, coral and amber. The rare natural alexandrite is a form of chrysoberyl. It has the chameleon-like ability to change color, depending on the lighting conditions.

Jade is a broad term for materials having a varied composition. These multi-colored materials with the names jadite and nephrite were discussed in an Awake! article, “Jade—Stone of Kings,” January 22, 1978, pp. 25, 26. Jadite is generally sodium aluminum silicate, while nephrite is of the general composition of calcium magnesium silicate. They have been a delight of kings and commoners in the past and are a joy to millions today.

The amethyst, a crystalline gem quartz, is often thought of as purple; however, the colors vary from colorless through shades of rose to dark smoky varieties. With a hardness of only 7, they can be cut and polished with comparative ease and are therefore a good stone for the beginner to find and make into jewelry. These stones have the widest distribution.

The very popular opal attracts us by its iridescent splash of colors. Scanning electron microscope pictures show opals to be composed of more or less orderly rows of what appear to be nodules of silicon dioxide. The rows are so fine that they break up white light into colors.

Pearls, coral, and amber all come from living sources but are highly valued. A major source of pearls is the saltwater oyster, and most of these pearls are cultured. Both gem coral and amber are soft and easily polished.

Finding Your Own Gemstones

The joy of owning fine gems can be heightened if you find your own gemstones. Some even cut and polish them, mounting them in their own settings. As late as the beginning of this century, little reliable information was available on the art of the lapidary, that is, one who cuts and polishes gemstones. As books gradually appeared, even groups of nonprofessionals began to organize with the objective of assisting one another in finding gem materials and making jewelry. Members of these groups who particularly hunt and collect gemstones and other minerals are affectionately called “rock hounds.” There may be “rock shops” in your community. Some not only sell, cut, and polish stones, but sell equipment and give lessons.

When planning a vacation for the family, or while on the way to a Christian convention, the joy of the trip might be increased for some by stopping for a while to hunt gemstones. Books are often available in the rock shops providing information on locations where mining is open to the public. Some formerly commercial mines have found it more profitable to let the tourist and weekend rock hounds mine for a small fee. However, watch out for the “salted” mines using worthless foreign stones.

If carefully planned and controlled, hunting and polishing gemstones can be a joyful and even profitable hobby. And the Bible gives us reason to believe that, in time, these magnificent gems will sparkle for the joy of all mankind, not just the privileged few.

[Footnotes]

[Diagram on page 22]

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forms of gem crystals

TRICLINIC

ORTHORHOMBIC

MONOCLINIC

TETRAGONAL

CUBIC

HEXAGONAL