However modern the world is, myths always abound in all its different arenas. Since we are all beings that are influenced by everything around us, we sometimes give in to these various myths. We, at Lustre Design Corporation, have come across many such myths related to gems and gem cutting that deserve to be exposed as such. This article lists five such myths to enlighten our readers.
Let us begin with the sapphire; after all, Sri Lanka’s blue sapphires have travelled the world! It is popular belief that sapphires are all blue. You will be surprised to learn that this is a myth. Sapphires come in various colours. Rubies and sapphires are made of the same mineral called “corundum”. Red corundums are dubbed “rubies” while blue ones are traditionally called “sapphires”. There are other colours in the array. For example, pink and yellow.
Does the origin of the gem determine the quality of the gem? You might have heard somewhere that it does! However, that is a myth. The quality of gems does not depend on the location which it is from. Gemstones of great quality have been found from a multitude of places in the world. Given that that is a fact, according to the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Sri Lanka has the “highest density of gems in the world and is a global sourcing destination.” It is therefore no miracle that Sri Lankan land has produced so many good quality diamonds that have travelled far and wide.
The next bust-worthy myth is that there is a clear divide between precious and semi-precious stones. According to gemsociety.org there are four factors that decide the value of a gem: colour, clarity, cut, and carat. Gemsociety.org also states, however, that the unique features of each gem also determine its value. The gem cutter is therefore under the grave responsibility to choose the perfect cut that suits each individual gem. There is a lot of weight on this craftsman to be creative and innovative as well as precise and dexterous. A popular type of gem of large size with a dull cut could be lesser in value than a smaller, less commonly known type of gem with a more captivating colour, greater clarity, a larger carat value and a perfect cut.
There is another very dangerous myth that is popular in some parts of the world. This is that gems are all safe to be powdered and consumed as medication. However, this is disputed by certain medical communities with the fact that ingested gems could cause internal bleeding if the ground grains are too large. More appallingly some gems can start adverse chemical reactions with bodily fluids. Therefore, it is better to be on the sunnier side of the matter by ingesting only formally approved medication. A slight mistake could prove deadly.
Moving to a more practical aspect of mistakes, gems that look alike are often mistaken for their counterparts. For example, purple sapphire could be mistaken for rhodolite garnet; ruby for chrome pyrope; chrome tourmaline for verdelite tourmaline; aquamarine for topaz; citrine quartz for yellow feldspar; tanzanite for lolite. We could go on for longer, but you get our meaning. To explain it very briefly, the difference between the stones is most of the time the minerals on which they are based.
There you have it! Those were five myths that we, at Lustre Design Corporation in Sri Lanka, just uncovered for you through our years of experience and encounters with these beautiful natural phenomena!