Hindu poets tell of the Kalpa Tree, the ultimate gift to the gods,
which was a glowing tree covered with gemstone fruit with leaves of
zircon. Zircon has long had a supporting role to more well-known
gemstones, often stepping in as an understudy when they were unavailable.
In the middle ages, zircon was said to aid sleep, bring prosperity,
and promote honor and wisdom in its owner. The name probably comes
from the Persian word zargun which means "gold-colored,"
although zircon comes in a wide range of different colors.
Natural zircon today suffers for the similarity of its name to cubic
zirconia, the laboratory-grown diamond imitation. Some don't realize
that there is a beautiful natural gemstone called zircon.
Zircon occurs in a wide range of colors but for many years, the most
popular was the colorless variety which looks more like diamond than
any other natural stone due to its brilliance and dispersion.
Today the most popular color is blue zircon. Most blue zircon, which
is considered an alternate birthstone for December, is a pastel blue,
but some exceptional gems have a bright blue color. Zircon is also
available in green, dark red, yellow, brown, and orange.
Zircon is mined in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia,
and other countries.
Zircon is one of the heaviest gemstones, which means that it will
look smaller than other varieties of the same weight. Zircon jewelry
should be stored carefully because although zircon is relatively
hard, it can abrade and facets can chip. Dealers often wrap zircons
in individual twists of paper so that they will not knock against
each other in a parcel.
The wide variety of colors of zircon, its rarity, and its relatively
low cost make it a popular collector's stone. Collectors enjoy the
search for all possible colors and variations.
Mohs hardness: 7.0 to 7.5
Turquoise
History and Folklore:
Old European tradition associates turquoise with horses. Turquoise
supposedly protected horses from all manner of ills, including
drinking overly cold water when overheated. The bearer of turquoise
should be able to resist evil and maintain virtue. Tibetans believe
that turquoise brings good fortune and health, and wards off the evil
eye. Turquoise was more valuable than gold to the Aztecs of Mexico -
a notion that was passed on to the conquering Spaniards. The name
"turquoise" is fairly recent. Pliny referred to it instead
as callais, with comes form the Greek kalos lithos meaning
"beautiful stone." One who sees the reflection of the new
moon on turquoise will have good luck, according to Persian legend.
The Hindus thought a similar combination would bring great wealth.
And the Navajos thought that a prayer spoken while throwing turquoise
into the river would bring rain.
Turquoise was thought to be amorphous until the first crystalline
specimens were found in 1911. Spiderweb turquoise is veined with
black matrix in a pattern that looks like crocheted lace. Though
often associated with Native Americans, turquoise has been known
globally since the Mesopotamians used it by 5000 B.C.
Notes:
Turquoise may well have been the first gemstone mined and the first
imitated.The color of blue turquoise can change under heat (about
500oF) to greener hues.There are several minerals that make the dark
veins often found in turquoise. These include limonite, sandstones,
jaspers, and psilomelane. Veins of other colors occur as well with
minerals such as malachite and chrysocolla.
The name turquoise means Turkish, refering to the fact that Europe's
early turquoise got to Europe via Turkey. Avoid contacting turquoise
with body oils (or any oils, for that matter). The stone is porous
and will absorb oils causing the color to yellow over time. The
finest color is an intense deep-blue azure, rarely seen. The
intensity and evenness of color are important valuation factors. So
too is the quality of the polish. "Robin's egg blue" is
another highly valued color.
Localities:
Turquoise is found in Iran (Persian turquoise is of the finest; it is
Iran's national gemstone), Afghanistan, Australia, China, Israel,
Tanzania, Russia, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and the U.S. Folks who know
their turquoise can tell you what mine a particular specimen came
from based on its color and matrix pattern. The differences can be
very subtle, however, and the breadth of variation is enormous.
Treatments:
Turquoise is often dyed to improve the color. (It is very porous.) It
may also be stabilized by a polymer acting as a binder for the
otherwise softer and more porous natural material. This can be
overdone, however, with some materials called "turquoise"
containing less than 10% natural turquoise.
Imitators:
Dyed chalcedony, dyed howlite, glasses, ceramics, and plastics.
Pieces of turquoise are pulverized and reconstituted to look like
natural turquoise. There are some other minerals that can be confused
with turquoise: amazonite, chrysocolla, lazulite, hemamorphite,
odontolite, serpentine, smithsonite, faustite, prosopite, and
variscite. Even the early Egyptians imitated turquoise with a glazed
quartz paste (faience) due to the inferior quality of the available turquoise.
Lab-Grown (synthetic):
This is marketed under such names as hamburger turquoise, neolite,
and neo-turquoise
