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Home > Earth > Gemstones
How Gemstones Are Formed
For thousands of years humans have collected, hoarded, traded, stolen and looted cut and polished stones of various sorts. By far, the stones most highly prized by cultures around the world are those we classify as gemstones. Unmatched beauty, purity, rarity, and endurance are the qualities of the most highly prized gemstones. Join us as we profile the rarest and most precious of gemstones and explore the geologic processes that forge them.
Sapphires
This is not a mineral you often hear about, but it is the second hardest natural mineral known to man. Aluminum Oxide, as it is known in mineralogy circles... Read more
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Rubies
The natural crystal form of an uncut ruby is a hexagonal prism or blade. The largest ruby in the world is the Eminent Star ruby...Read more
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Emeralds
 In its purest, natural (uncut) form, this mineral forms long, hexagonal prisms and is known as goshenite. It also comes in a variety of colors, depending upon...Read more
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Diamonds
The most highly prized gemstones in the world are diamonds because of their many desirable qualities and few weaknesses. On Moh's hardness scale of 1 to 10 it is the only known substance to rate a perfect 10...Read more
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