Emerald Ring

Emeralds are one of the 4 most well known precious gems!

I got this channel set emerald ring set in white gold.. the tones of the emerald is really brought out by the white gold!

Opal

Opals are one of my fave stones!!

I got this pendant, which is set in 925 silver, from Australia in 2006!

It's overall tones are blue, with bright flashes of greenish-blue!

Diamond and sapphire pendant

This diamond and sapphire pendant is one of my faves! It's also one of my first too!

I like the contrast between the colours!

Barnacle Quartz

This quartz cluster just reminds me of goose barnacles!

The quartz, is opaque, as compared to clear quartz!

Blue Topaz

Blue Topaz Gem facetted!

These stones were bought at Yahoo auctions for a very good deal!

Facetted Red Garnet

Some facetted red garnets!

Red red wine!

Fluorite from Coahuila

This flourite specimen is apparently from Coahuila, Mexico..

It has a lovely purple colour.. and the surface texture just reminds me of crystalline sugar!

This specimen, surprisingly, does not fluorescence under UV light!

Double Terminated Quartz

A naturally formed doubly terminated quartz, free from matrix!



This specimen has really interesting inclusions in it!

Twinned Aragonite

This twinned aragonite has a nice reddish orange colour and exhibits a twinned formation with many other generations growing on it!

Even though its a fairly common calcium mineral, I like the growth structure of the crystals!

Jade snuff

I like snuff bottles a lot..

This is another in my collection that is carved out of jade..

It has strong Chinese influence as you can see from the auspicious Chinese bat carving on it..

Prophecy Stone

Does it really tell the future?

I have not really found out so yet!!

Anyway, this durian looking like stone, is supposedly pretty rare and costs me quite a bomb! Its energy when held in the hand is rather strong too!

Scenic Quartz

Mother nature sure has her own way with creating art pieces!

This smoky quartz has quite of inclusions in it.. so much that they look like a garden!

You are my sunshine..

.. my only sunshine..

you make me happy... with your beautiful schiller!

I love sunstone cos of its bright cheerful glow! These pair though not the best quality, had a nice shine to it!

Facetted Tourmaline

These stones shown here are all facetted tourmaline...

Look at how many colours this mineral can come in.. from pink to red, green to dark green! It covers nearly every colour in the spectrum!


The word tourmaline has two etymologies, both from the Sinhalese word turamali, meaning "stone attracting ash" (a reference to its pyroelectric properties) or according to other sources "mixed gemstones".

Kyanite

Love its nice blue colour...

but one interesting fact about this mineral that makes it so unique:

It's Moh's hardness is 4.5-5 parallel to one axis and 6.5-7 perpendicular to that axis!

A mineral with two different hardness!

Stainless Steel and Diamonds

I just learnt that stainless steel does look good with diamonds..

Got this ring with 5 diamonds set in stainless steel!

They sparkle very well against the greyish black stainless steel setting!

Coconut agate

This agate specimen here really reminds me of agate with its colour...

It is filled with drusy quartz in the inside!

Star Blue Topaz

i don't really fancy blue topaz...



But this facetted blue topaz really interested me when I saw it because of its very unique cut : a star!

When a diamond isn't a diamond...

When is a diamond not a diamond?

When its a Herkimer diamond, of course!

These are a misomer for double terminated quartz..

The specimen I have here is still embedded in its matrix!

Heart shaped amethyst

Another heart shaped gem... this time.. the common amethyst gets a unique heart shaped make over!

Interesting agate

I love collecting agates because every piece is different and inside the gedoe, you get to see a piece of art from Mother Nature!

Jade

Jade cabochons in assorted shapes...
Got this free of charge from a dealer..

Although I don't really know how to appreciate jade as gems, I appreciated the kind thoughts that came with them!

Amethyst Stalacite

Sliced amethyst stalacite... with a nice polish!

It really resembles a nice flower blooming... I like this piece cos there is a figure '8' in the centre!

Shiva Lingam

The sexual stone...

The Shiva Lingam is one of the most sacred icons of the ancient as well as the modern world. These lingams come only from the Narmada River in The Central Western Part of India.

The Lingam is symbolic of the Divine Creative manifestation. The Lingam shape is representative of the power of Shiva, the Lord of Creation, the masculine creative energy. The markings symbolize the feminine energy, the seed which is fertilized to manifest the creative power in the dance of the cosmos.

Found these on sale in Singapore after a hard time....

Carat vs Clarity

Would you prefer to have a bigger diamond or to have one with better clarity?

I was earlier at this no frills diamond jewellery store in Singapore and overheard this sales promoter with her sales tactic of getting a big diamond that is over 1 carat is good, cos it has good resale value. But when I took a look at the diamond, gosh, it was so flawed!

Firstly, it does not have any certification by any independent laboratory.
Secondly, the inclusions were horrible! You could see them in the tablet without any magnification at all!

Does size really matter when purchasing a diamond since one of the 4Cs in selecting a diamond happen to be carat?

To me, when purchasing a colourless diamond, it is important to make sure that clarity is not compromised when size is the factor one looks for. As it would be pointless to have a big diamond with inclusions that will affect the fire and scintillation of the stone.

However, when selecting fancy diamonds, size can be seen as the predominant factor, since coloured diamonds are rare, and any diamond that has fancy colours would be rare, thus size of the diamond would be proportionate to its price! Inclusions on the other hand, would be more of providing the finger prints of the diamond as to where the diamond was formed, under what kinda conditions!

Therefore, when purchasing a diamond that you intend to have good resale value, always make the decisive choice, remember that not all diamonds will have resale value.. its only the cream of the crop that will outshine the rest!

Good luck~

Paging all fans of crystals, minerals, jewellery

Looking for fellow friends who are into crystals, minerals, fossils, jewellery..

If you have a blog, website, page that is devoted to such, please do drop me a comment so that we can exchange links!

Happy stoning!