The Curator's Journal

OPAL

Opal is the National Gemstone of Australia. It is a hydrated amorphous form of silica with a structure that makes it diffract light and take on many colors. Precious opal ranges from clear through ...

EMERALD

Emerald means ‘green gemstone’. It is a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6)colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have ...

TOPAZ

Topaz can be finished into an almost limitless variety of jewellery due to its versatility. It is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine. A good hardness and availability in desirable colors ...

Beryllium treated Blue Sapphires

Blue Sapphire is a variety of the mineral Corundum in blue. Other two gem-varieties of corundum are Ruby (red) and Padparadscha (pinkish orange). Although blue is their most well-known color,sa...

Garnet

Red garnet is one of the most common and widespread of gems, found in metamorphic rocks (which are rocks altered by heat and pressure) on every continent. But not all garnets are as abundant as t...

Blue Topaz

The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength. In Europe during the Renaissance (the period from the 1300s to the 1600s) people thought that topaz could break magic spells and dispel an...

Amethyst

Amethyst has a beautiful wine color and the Greeks associated it with Bacchus, the god of wine. Many believed that amethyst can keep its wearer clear headed or able to make rational business decisi...

Tourmaline

For centuries people were confused as to what the gem tourmaline was. Until the development of modern mineralogy it was identified as some other stone, such as a ruby, sapphire, emerald, and so on ...

Tanzanite

Tiffany and Co. recently discovered tanzanite and it is only found in one place on earth. It was found in a country named Tanzania. The gem was name after the country. Most crystals comes in diff...

Sapphire

Blue sapphire belongs to the mineral species corundum. It can be a pure blue but ranges from greenish blue to violetish blue. The name “sapphire” can also apply to any corundum that’s not red and d...