Quick answer Amethyst, citrine and rose quartz are varieties of quartz distinguished mainly by color. Chalcedony belongs to the same broad gemstone family, but its name describes a fine-grained crystalline material rather than one particular color. Agate is a banded…
Quick answer: Carat weight tells you how much a gemstone weighs, not how large it looks or how attractive it is. Compare millimeter dimensions first, then…
Quick answer Before buying a gemstone, ask which treatments it has received, what evidence supports that description, and what cleaning or repair restrictions apply. Request the…
Quick answer: A colored-stone identification report records a laboratory’s findings about the material examined: its identity, natural or laboratory-grown status, descriptive characteristics and detectable treatments. Some…
Quick answer: Choose care methods for the whole specimen—not just its main crystal. Check its identity, associated minerals, condition and known treatments before cleaning. If anything…
Quick answer Looking at a gemstone can help you describe it and suggest possible identities, but appearance alone usually cannot confirm what it is. Gemologists combine…
Quick answer Natural describes a gem that formed in nature. Laboratory-grown describes a manufactured gem with essentially the same chemical, physical and optical properties as its…
Quick answer Ruby and sapphire are varieties of the same mineral: corundum. Ruby is red corundum; sapphire covers the other gem colors, including blue, pink, yellow…
Quick answer: Some minerals grow as cubes because their repeating internal atomic arrangement allows cube-shaped crystal forms. Pyrite, fluorite and halite are familiar examples. But a…
The short answer Mineral describes a naturally occurring material with a characteristic chemical composition and ordered internal structure. Crystal describes a solid’s ordered internal structure—not simply…
