What kinds of semi-precious stones are there?

As we said, there is still no exact classification of stones; there is an approximate division into precious, semi-precious and ornamental. Such a classification can be misleading to an ignorant person. Whereas, in essence, there is a division into two main categories: precious and ornamental. According to the classification of geologist E.Ya. The Kievlenko group of precious stones has a very large number of names and is divided into 4 categories:

• Diamond, ruby, blue sapphire, emerald;
• Alexandrite, other colors of sapphires, noble jadeite, black opal;
• Spinel, topaz, tourmaline, fire opal;
• Zircon, amethyst, turquoise, sun and moon stone, as well as others.

Russian legislation recognizes only diamond, emerald, ruby, blue sapphire, alexandrite, pearl and amber as precious (you can read more about this in the article Precious stones). But their high cost is actually ensured only by the appropriate level of quality. The idea that semi-precious stones are inferior to precious stones is fundamentally wrong. The only thing that distinguishes these two conditional groups is hardness and prevalence, but not value. The most widely used gemstones in jewelry are conventionally called semi-precious. The value of stones depends on many physical characteristics: purity, transparency, play of light and color, absence of inclusions, cracks, and so on.

It is on the basis of these characteristics that their cost is formed. The quality of the cut can make a semi-precious stone equal in beauty to a diamond. Also, the price is influenced by market factors, depending on fluctuations in supply and demand. The same diamond with any flaws may cost less than so-called “semi-precious” high-quality samples. Precious and semi-precious samples have the same characteristic – transparency, as well as the presence of impurities of other elements in the crystal lattice. This property gives them their color, which is why they are called “gems.” The color of a gem can change shade under the influence of ten thousandths of a percent of impurities.

Classification features

In an earlier period of time, some of today’s semi-precious stones were listed as precious stones. The rest were called “colored precious stones other than emerald, ruby ​​and sapphire.” Later the name was simplified to semi-precious. However, the characteristics of minerals are much more important than assigning them to one group or another. This statement is proven by the fact that rare semi-precious specimens that have excellent cut, color and quality can command value on par with precious ones.

The price of many semi-precious minerals is based on their clarity and color. The special quality of jade, jadeite, zircon, tourmaline puts them on a par with precious ones. And the yellow or black color of sapphire is valued much less than blue and ranks it at the level of semi-precious stones. Tanzanite can exceed in value the market leaders – sapphire or emerald. This is due to price fluctuations due to low tanzanite mining volumes. Therefore, a more correct name is gems, jewelry stones.

Materials

Semi-precious stones include transparent, colored, and colorless stones. Their mass is measured in grams, less often in carats. The most famous minerals are aquamarine, amethyst, topaz, chrysolite, turquoise, garnet, opal, zircon. Many believe that each of them has some healing and magical properties, which only increases the demand for products with these stones. Also, wearing one or another gemstone is indicated for certain zodiac signs, which also adds to its popularity. Like precious samples, they have the necessary set of characteristics:

• Color, coloring;
• Shine;
• light refraction;
• dispersion;
• luminescence;
• transparency;
• pleochroism;
• hardness;
• density.

Popular semi-drags

Aquamarine

Aquamarine, a type of beryl, has a variety of colors ranging from green-blue. The origin of the name of the mineral is due to the shades of sea water. Greenish-yellow beryl is fired to produce aquamarine. Nowadays, this stone is popular among designers and has a fairly significant cost. The area of ​​application is also jewelry.

Amethyst

One of the varieties of quartz and one of the most beautiful is Amethyst. The color scheme includes the presence of purple, cherry blue tones, the edges of the stone are brighter and the base is paler. The role of lighting at mining sites influences the color change of Amethyst. If a mineral is exposed to the sun for a long time, it becomes lighter or even fades.

Apatite

Apatite is mined in accumulations of magma and granite. The largest specimen found reached 200 kg. The impurities present in a mineral have a direct bearing on its different color shades. The stone is used in the jewelry industry, but it does not have the widest range of applications because it is not very durable and can also crack if heated.

Heliodor

Heliodor is one of the varieties of the mineral beryl. The range of colors is very wide, these are: orange, yellow, red green. Transparent light tones are more valuable than dark ones. Some stones may contain uranium and may therefore have some radioactivity. It is generally accepted that if a mineral has a very saturated color, then the proportion of radiation in it is increased. Paler tones of crystals are therefore safer.

Demantoid

Among the garnet rocks, Demantoid can be distinguished; it is the most beautiful, but also expensive, and is a combination of green and yellow colors. Faceted stones acquire sparkling iridescence reminiscent of diamonds. Nowadays, despite its similarities with diamond, it is almost never used in the jewelry industry and is currently considered a rarity.

Rauchtopaz

Rauchtopaz is a quartz variety with a smoky color. When rays hit, at different angles of refraction, the color of the stone being cut changes and it appears greenish-violet. The color ranges from light gray smoky to dark brown-gray. There is information that the largest specimens of crystalline quartz found are measured in several tons.

Tanzanite

Tanzanite got its name from its only place of extraction, located in Tanzania. Tanzanite’s color is intense blue and it is a variety of Zoisite. The depleting deposits of its only deposit add value to the gem, and there are no opportunities for additional discovery of deposits. This gem is not durable and jewelry made from it is not recommended for everyday use.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a boron-containing, very original stone with a large palette of all kinds of colors. The popularity and effectiveness of tourmaline jewelry is widespread throughout the world, and it is very popular among collectors. In addition to the jewelry industry, this gem is used in scientific and technical developments. There are even artificial minerals, but they are less valuable.

Topaz

Topaz is a very attractive, but not expensive crystal, usually in cherry, pink and yellow colors, with a very high density. Topaz has the most ideal hardness inherent in precious stones. In the jewelry industry, more beautiful stones are often used; the most valuable are crystals in pink, blue and dark yellow tones. There are synthetic blue topazes.

Chrysolite

Chrysolite is a type of olivine. It is a transparent mineral with green, golden and pistachio hues. Stones found beneath the surface of the earth are more saturated in color than those found outside and are usually small grains with irregular outlines. The intensity of the color affects the price of the mineral, upward. It is not very durable, so it is cut very carefully.

Zircon

Zircon, due to its uniqueness, can easily compete with ruby ​​and diamond. This is a silicic acid salt that transforms individual grains with irregular outlines. The crystal comes in all kinds of colors: colorless, blue, yellow, brown, red. The color of a stone is affected by various impurities contained in it. In the jewelry industry, blue or brown zircon is preferred.

Citrine

Citrine is a type of rock crystal and quartz. This is a bright, shiny mineral and comes in lemon, golden and honey colors. A pale or colorless mineral is natural; the presence of a bright color indicates its synthetic origin. The light cut of the stone makes it a preferred option in the jewelry industry. Some stones of a rare shade subsequently lose their color.

Spinel

Spinel is a fairly rare hard rock mineral. What gives the crystal a special exclusivity is the presence of each color with its own individual shade. Along with its quality, the color of the crystal that it acquires due to impurities is especially valued. Colors can be: pink, blue, green, red, black, brown, purple and colorless. Red, pink and purple minerals are more valued. Step and diamond cutting are used for processing.

Artificial analogues

There is also the possibility of producing artificial analogues, the cost of which is much cheaper. But this phenomenon only strengthened the importance and price of natural gems. They are of great interest among buyers due to the beauty of color and transparency combined with affordability. Jewelers also value them for their high-quality cutting capabilities due to their hardness. Most jewelry houses prefer to work with gems, creating chic collections.

Such stones make up the largest proportion of all known minerals. They are used everywhere and are the most popular inserts in jewelry.

Jewelry industry products

If you look into a jewelry store, what kind of inserts in jewelry made of precious metals can you see there? The central element of jewelry is the most popular semi-precious stones: topazes, garnets, zircons, tourmalines, amethysts, citrines, peridots, opals, chrysoprase, rauchtopazes, turquoise and many others. That is, all stones classified as semi-precious. They are framed in a rich frame of yellow, white, and red gold. Luxurious earrings that highlight the color of their owner’s eyes, exquisite bracelets and pendants, and a variety of rings.

Where is this stone mined?

There are thousands of known groups of deposits in the world. The most important of them are dispersed in the countries of Asia, Africa, and in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Australia and America are also among the intensively exploited fields. In fact, a targeted search for new deposits has never been carried out. Some of them have been discovered since ancient times, some are discovered during the search for other minerals during scientific expeditions, and some are mined along the way. If the deposit is depleted, the supply of certain stones may cease completely. This is the reason for the lack of stability in the global market for high quality stones. Main suppliers of semi-precious stones:

• Brazil – rock crystal, amethyst, topaz, citrine, while artificial citrine obtained by firing amethyst is more often found on the market;
• South Africa – tiger eye, diamond;
• Australia – sapphire, precious opal;
• Russia – topaz, amethyst, citrine, amber, uvarovite, chrome diopside, demantoid, tourmaline, charoite, lapis lazuli. Moreover, only here the red-cherry variety of tourmaline – rubellite – is mined;
• Madagascar, Brazil – aquamarine, and the blue color of the stone is the result of processing yellow-green beryl;
• Myanmar – noble spinel of ruby ​​hue;
• Iran, China, Tajikistan – turquoise;
• Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mozambique – garnets, of which the most valued by jewelers are red pyrope, crimson almandine, green demantoid, grossular;

The market for jewelry products with inserts of precious and semi-precious stones amazes with its rich assortment, provided by a huge variety of natural minerals, natural imitations, refined stones, many synthetic analogues, and substitutes. Now you can notice a drop in demand for artificial samples of minerals, which is explained by the fashion for everything natural.

Semi-precious stones, more common than, for example, diamonds and emeralds, are actively used in jewelry and to create elegant, unique decor.

Colors of semi-precious stones

The color palette of semi-precious natural stones is very diverse: light, dark, gray, white, green, red, blue, brown, black, pink, blue, yellow, purple, they are unique and inimitable due to the unusual patterns that arose during the formation of the rocks.

On our website you can look at photographs of products and decide which material is right for you.

Types of semi-precious stones

What stones are considered semi-precious? Those that are quite common in nature. They are very diverse, and accordingly, their price is lower than that of rare precious materials.

In addition, semi-precious stones also include semi-precious stones that do not have the highest hardness rating on the Mohs scale. Despite this, they are quite durable and easy to cut and use.

The affordable price allows them to be used when creating decorative elements:

• candlesticks;
• vases;
• wall panels;
• tiles;
• wash bowls and sinks;
• caskets, etc.

Our website presents a variety of natural semi-precious stones that are mined in Russia, Germany, Italy, Israel, Romania and China. These are amethyst, agate, quartz, chrysoprase, obsidian, sodalite, jasper, tiger’s eye and many others. By origin, like precious materials, such materials can be igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic; their age is hundreds of thousands of years.

Where to buy semi-precious stones in Moscow

You can buy semi-precious stones in Moscow inexpensively from the Marktstein company. There is an online store with delivery throughout Moscow and the Moscow region, but if you do not like purchasing products and materials on the Internet, we are waiting for you in the showrooms. They are located in convenient locations. There you can view mineral samples.

• An online consultant on the website will calculate the cost for you based on the amount of materials.
• We work directly with quarries, thanks to which our assortment includes only high-quality, easy-to-process semi-precious stones.
• Our prices for materials remain affordable for all customers, and a large catalog will allow you to find a suitable option for everyone.

Photos of semi-precious stones in the interior

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