the.com/gemology
the art of telling a billion-year-old miracle from a very confident piece of glass
means the scientific study of gemstones — their identification, grading, origins, and the properties that distinguish the genuine from the fake.
from A modern hybrid: the first half from Latin 'gemma' (a gem, but originally a 'bud' on a vine — the Romans saw the same swelling brightness in a jewel as in new growth), bolted onto the Greek '-logia' (the study of). The word itself is young, taking shape only in the early 20th century as the trade professionalized and dealers needed a science to back their squint.
- 4 c's
- Cut, color, clarity, carat decide a stone's worth
- carat origin
- Named after carob seeds, once used as weights
- lab vs mine
- Synthetic diamonds are chemically identical, far cheaper
- glow test
- Many gems fluoresce eerily under ultraviolet light
- hardest tool
- Only diamond reliably scratches diamond