Gemstones is one of my new books for 2016
Minerals that are beautiful, durable and rare are called gemstones. Here are a fewthings you might not know about gemstones:
- The Star of India is the world’s largest sapphire. It was discovered more than 300 years ago.
- The weight of gemstones is measured in carats. This should not be confused with karats, which measures the proportion of gold in an alloy, or carrots, which are not a measurement at all.
- Only about 30% of diamonds are used in jewelry. The other 70% are small or low-quality and are used to make saw blades, drill bits, or grinding wheels or to control heat in electronics.
- A lapidary is a person who cuts and polishes gemstones. He or she may use a diamond-tipped saw blade to cut hard gems.
- Apple is determined to use sapphire glass in the iPhone 6s. Sapphire is extremely hard and scratch-resistant but brittle and glary. If Apple can solve the problems, the new screen would be indestructible.
My favourite gemstone is moonstone. Ancient Romans thought moonstones formed from drops of moonlight and Hindu legend says they come from moonbeams. Very romantic, don’t you think?
