Pearl Gemstone Information

pearl, inci

About Pearls – History and Introduction Pearls are organic gemstones that are formed by shelled molluscs; mainly bivalved oysters and mussels. Pearls are made up of nacre (mother-of-pearl) which is mostly aragonite (calcium carbonate) and conchiolin (complex proteins that form mollusc shells). The aragonite microcrystals build up around an irritant. The name “pearl” is said to have originated from the Middle English word “perle”, which in turn came from the Latin word “perna”, meaning “leg”, thought to be due to the ham-leg shape of the bivalve mollusc. Natural pearls are…

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Diamond

diamond

What Is A Diamond? The word Diamond comes from the Greek word Adamas, which means indestructible. It is the only gem known to man that is made of a single element, Carbon, besides graphite. Diamond is completely made of Carbon atoms (Chemical Composition – C) crystallized in a cubic (isometric) arrangement. How and where are diamonds formed? Diamonds form between 120-200 kilometers or 75-120 miles below the earth’s surface. According to geologists the first delivery of diamonds was somewhere around 2.5 billion years ago and the most recent was 45…

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