Mohs scale of hardness put the start to division of stones for precious and semi-precious and in ancient times various stones ere appreciated for various cases. So, the Egyptians preferred jewelry from emeralds, turquoise, amethysts and rock crystal while the Romans loved diamonds and sapphires. During the Renaissance and baroque epochs wealthy people preferred rubies, sapphires and topazes while the rococo period dictated diamonds to glitter on clothing. So, stones were selected to match the clothing, the mood and personal preferences.
Ensembles of people of the romanticism period were mostly decorated with precious gems giving beauty to the world around and the heart of people. That was the time when stones were attributed the special symbol, when every single semiprecious stone had the particular meaning. Jewelers of that time acted as designers and healers when they helped to select the stones of particular meaning for particular person to match their emotional and physical needs.
The impact of the precious and semi-precious stones on the human organism, the physiology, feelings and emotions are known from old times, though with every year the scientists and researchers looked for more evidences of interaction between stones and humans, stones and planets, connecting macrocosmos and microcosm. And even today, use of semi-precious stones as talismans and healing elements is not absurd and influence of minerals on humans is proved through centuries, yet, the symbolism in jewelry is back again.
This is required especially when many of us can afford precious stones to own, and rare diamonds and emeralds are still mined hardly ever. Unlike them, rare and unique stones can be acquired for the reasonable price due to huge amount of semi-precious gems. Some semi-precious stones appear more expensive than precious stones, though, due to sizes and unique features. It is worth stating that whatever demanded is the market of fake precious gems, semi-precious stones are also imitated. Alexandrite lost its positions among semi-precious gems which was the elite stone in the high society in Russia in old times when the great number of fake stones without unique features and beauty cut use of alexandrite as the jewelry stone for clothing and decoration.
Onyx, nephritis or jade and turquoise are often faked, though the real beauty of natural stones allows finding the difference between the fake gem and semi-precious stone. Lately the number of fake gems decreased since semi-precious stones somewhat outdated, and the jewelers gave their fundamental concentration to precious stones. However, today semi-precious stones are in again in the niche of elite jewelry as additional crystals to highlight the glimpse of real jewels or individual jewelry items. A wide range of colors, matte texture, translucency and other features, semi-precious stones win the market of jewelry gradually allowing creation of unique and exclusive jewelry items with exceptional and rare minerals.
It is known that most semi-precious stones cannot boast with long and prominent history though most of them bear the particular symbolic meaning to serve as talismans to protect particular Zodiac sign persons or persons of particular profession or particular social group members. So, superstitious sailors keep emerald while sailing, artistic people prefer tourmaline or amethyst, and small children are advised that they wear moonstone.
According to superstitions, the moonstone is the mineral that helps kids grow intelligent since the mineral is believed to stimulate mental activity and increase skills to sciences. The garnet is considered the stone for those who are in love, for friends and who believe in friendship and loyalty. The mineral sparkles and glitters in blood-red glares when a person obsession with passion wears it. And every Zodiac sign has particular stones and minerals especially assigned to protect, to highlight individual features and help control negative emotions.
Similar Posts:
Art of Jewelry in Ancient Russia
Colored Gold – the Precious Riot of Shades
Precious Stones – Gem Magic and Persons
Egyptian Jewelry - Exotic Trend
Cufflinks: a work of art to wear
Damiani For Maserati
Save and share Semi-Precious Stones – Glittering Symbols
To share this post with your family and friends? Click the button below to send them an email or save this to your favorite social network.