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Ever wonder why some gemstones are so limited and expensive while others seem to be readily available?  It’s all about Mother Nature.

When Mother Nature forms gemstones there are certain combinations of heat, pressure, minerals, volcano activity, and many other factors that go into the formation of a gem.  Most gemstones form in the Earth’s crust, the top layer of the Earth, which has a depth of 3-25 miles.  Only two gemstones, Diamond and Peridot, form in the Earth’s mantle which can be up to 1800 miles deep.

Magma is the source of raw materials for rocks and minerals: it is a soup of all the elements which form gemstones.  Lava or Magma rises to the crust, usually through volcanic pipes and once it hits the surface crystallizes forming minerals.  Additional pressure can make some of this lava infiltrate surrounding rocks forming gemstones such as amethyst, citrine, emerald, morganite, aquamarine, moonstone, apatite, spinel, tanzanite, tourmaline, topaz and zircon. 

Over time through the forces of erosion and weathering, smaller particles are produced and as time passes, these layers build up on land or under water.  This produces various chemical and physical changes and produces such gemstones as jasper, malachite, opal and zircon.

This same lava can also seep into other types of rock formations and undergo additional heat and pressure forming such gemstones as jade, lapis, turquoise, spinel, ruby, or sapphire.

Rocks and minerals are in a constant state of change and each part of their formation can take millions of years.  Often a gemstone can be analyzed and the chemical composition can be mapped out.   There are still great mysteries in the gem world such as purple diamonds.  No one knows why a very few diamonds turn purple.  It is thought that through some miracle of nature, it changes on its journey from the depths of the earth to the surface. .  Other extremely rare combinations of these factors produce what we call phenomena stones, gemstones which have a unique chemical combination producing special gemstones such as color change garnet or Alexandrite.

There are so many variables that go into forming a gemstone.   Some of them are fairly common as in quartz but others a miracle of nature such as the formation of Paraiba Tourmaline.  Today there have only been two places in the world that all the factors were just right to produce the incredible intense color necessary to be called a Paraiba Tourmaline.  Both sources are not producing today.  Will there ever be another find?  Only Mother Nature knows

Take care, Peyton