I've always known that gemstones are fragile at some point. What I didn't realize until I read a book on the subject was that if you own an emerald or pearl or piece of amber, you cannot use even so much as soap and water on them because it will damage the jewel.
Amber is fossilized tree resin. It is often orange or yellow in color. I think the best pieces are the ones with fossilized insects inside of them.
Emeralds are the most famous form of beryl crystal. It is usually some sort of green color.
Pearls are organic gems made in the shells of certain types of oysters and clams. They are usually portrayed as white, buy many are reddish, yellow, and black.
Why can't soap and water be used on these gems? Because these three are exceptionally fragile. Most of the emeralds I've seen seem to have scratches on the inside, and I read that they are treated with some kind of oil during shaping in order to give them a nicer finish. Amber is a fossil and fossils are by nature fragile in the first place. And pearls come straight from living shellfish, and shellfish shells are very fragile. I know because I've stepped on invasive zebra mussel shells before.
No comments:
Post a Comment