Introduction
Precious gems
The Earth in its magnificence is an inexhaustible quarry of wealth and resources. From the beginning of the known times, the human being has been able to extract from deep underground, great resources in precious stones that are silent witnesses of the passage of the ages. While time has been a gradual driver of the process of creating these stones, man has been the great architect capable of perfecting these precious rocks with his skill and talent. A two-hand job to forge a universe of brilliant, polished and splendid gems.
) Created deep in the Earth by high temperatures capable of melting rocks, precious stones have always captivated humanity. Historically, its image has been associated with the opulence of royalty. Pharaohs, kings and tsars have worn the most beautiful gems as symbols of status and power. Sapphires, emeralds and rubies are colorful gems of great aesthetic and monetary value; Diamonds, also known as fragments of eternity, stand out for their translucent and extraordinary beauty.
The pearls
But gems do not only originate within the subsoil, pearls are nacre spheres formed inside mollusks such as oysters, clams or mussels. They stand out for their extraordinary symmetry and fine texture. Although the process of origin occurs freely in nature, the human being has managed to control the production of pearls through farms. During this procedure, a foreign object is introduced into the mollusk and reinserted back into the water. After a much shorter time than estimated during the natural process, and taking care of the conditions of temperatures and water currents, the mollusk covers the foreign body with crystals and proteins, thus giving rise to the cultured nacre pearls. Pearl necklaces have been a reference to elegance and feminine distinction for centuries.
Images of the process of production of pearls in farms.
Who decides which stones should be considered precious?
There are more than 4000 minerals recognized on Earth, but only a few can be considered as precious stones. This distinction is conditioned by a series of precise characteristics: by the hardness scale of the stone; for the beauty and perfection of the material; because of the rarity of these or the amount available in the market. Originally, the amethyst complied with these three norms, but after discovering enormous deposits of this mineral in South America, it was considered as a semiprecious gem. The market was saturated with this stone, and when it became common, it stopped fulfilling one of the necessary requirements.
Man has also managed to reproduce synthetic precious stones in scientific laboratories. Imitating the conditions of the process in nature, has managed to produce gems with identical to natural characteristics, although the value of these is considered much lower.
Conclusion
Beautiful by definition, rare and imperishable, gems are a creation of the Earth and man. They are capable of containing all the majesty of nature within the deep and intense brightness that characterizes them. Its great merit is to continue to captivate humanity regardless of the passage of time.
Dear readers, I ask you: what do you think about precious gems? Do you think they are a way of expressing love or love through a gift? perhaps they have never really caught their attention, but they have always been part of the global culture and their influence on the history of man is undeniable. Because of the ambition to possess them, wars, conflicts and negotiations have taken place. Many love to own them, others find something banal and superfluous. What do you consider about this?
If you got here, it's because you liked reading me, thanks for doing it. Remember that in the world of Letters we all fit..
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