Rubies and sapphires belong to the same family of minerals and thus have the same physical characteristics. Among gemstones, they are the hardest, second only to diamonds, but still require gentle handling. The term ruby only applies to the color red. However, sapphires range in color from blue to green, black, orange, pink, yellow, purple or colorless (white).
What is gold?
The word gold, used by itself, means all gold or 24karat (24K) gold. Gold has been a monetary standard throughout the history of mankind. Gold is a soft but heavy metal.
What is a karat?
Karat tells you what proportion of gold is mixed with the other metals. For example, 18 karat (18K) gold contains 18 parts of gold and 6 parts of metals. Therefore 14 karat (14K) gold is less valuable than 18 karat gold since it contains 14 parts of gold and 10 parts of other metals. The abbreviation of karat is K. or Kt. It is easy to confuse this term with carat described below in the gemstone guide.
What are the gold alloys?
Pure (24K) gold is soft and unworkable. To increase its durability and hardness, it is mixed with other metals which are referred to as the gold alloys.
What is yellow gold?
Yellow gold refers to gold that has been alloyed with a mix of 50% copper and 50% silver.
What is white gold?
Pale, almost silver-colored gold caused by nickel, zinc alloys.
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Garnets are a related group of gemstones. This family includes the rhodolite, demantoid, grossular, hessonite, spessarite, almandine, mandarin, malaya, tsavorite.
Garnets are available in many colors such as orange, green, purpe red, pink, gold and more. They may look similar to ruby or emerald. The dark, slightly brownish or violet red color is the most popular.
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Can experts easily tell the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl?
Without X-rays, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between cultured and naturally occurring pearls. When cultured pearls were first introduced to the marketplace in the early 1900s, dealers tried to discredit the gems as simulations. Kokichi Mikimoto, the first commercial producer of cultured pearls, fought through courts around the world to prove his pearls were genuine, differing only from natural pearls by the uniformity of the artificially inserted nucleus.
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