Gemstone Appreciation Post
Whether you're into crystals or have a magpie fascination with pretty things, here's a little post dedicated to some of nature's most precious objects.
He would often spend a whole day settling and resettling in their cases the various stones that he had collected, such as the olive-green chrysoberyl, that turns red by lamplight, the cymophane with its wire-like line of silver, the pistachio-coloured peridot, rose-pink and wine-yellow topazes, carbuncles of fiery scarlet with tremulous four-rayed stars, flame-red cinnamon-stones, orange and violet spinels, and amethysts with their alternate layers of ruby and sapphire. He loved the red gold of sunstone, and the moonstone's pearly whiteness, and the broken rainbow of the milky opal. He procured from Amsterdam three emeralds of extraordinary size and richness of colour and had a turquoise de la vielle roche that was the envy of all the connoisseurs.
-from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
"My favourite gem is a diamond, when all is said and done,” Emily wrote to Ilse that night. “But I love gems of all kinds--except turquoise. Them I loathe—the shallow, insipid, soulless things. The gloss of pearl, glow of ruby, tenderness of sapphire, melting violet of amethyst, moonlit glimmer of aquamarine, milk and fire of opal—I love them all.”
-from Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery
According to the great alchemist Pierre de Boniface, the diamond rendered a man invisible, and the agate of India made him eloquent. The cornelian appeased anger, and the hyacinth provoked sleep, and the amethyst drove away the fumes of wine. The garnet cast out demons, and the hydropicus deprived the moon of her colour. The selenite waxed and waned with the moon, and the meloceus, that discovers thieves, could be affected only by the blood of kids.
-from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Other gemstone appreciation:
FASHION magazine has a Master Class ongoing series called Jewellery 101 that focus on a new gemstone with every issue whether it be aquamarine, baroque pearl, jade, or ruby. Unfortunately, I could only find the aquamarine piece on their (extremely clunky, alarmingly unnavigable) website so you'll have to pick up the actual magazine to learn more!
