Precious Gems Bear Messages From Earth’s Molten Heart

As a certified gemologist I would congratulate Ms. Angier on an extremely well researched and written article. The lyrical flow of scientific & specifically gemological information is easily digested by the layman and hopefully will instigate more individuals to study geology, gemology and earth sciences. Needless to say your sources for this article (which I know well) are impeccable.

Am wondering how scientists figured out how the various stones were made, and how long it took to research the processes. Fascinating article!

Finally! A science article I could actually understand!

Wonderful article, thank you. That said, I wonder if Mr. Daza's heirs are around . . .

This article made me take out my great-grandfather's pinkie ring, with a ruby set in a gold band. I had it looked at years ago, and the jeweler said it appeared to be of Italian origin, which made since, after all, my great-grandfather was Italian. I know that single red stone almost as well as I know the back of my own hand. This article made me understand why it is so mystifying. It is my tiny little memento, not just of my family's old past, but the Earth's.

A family member moved from Europe to Columbia to escape religious persecution. Many years later my aunt was traveling from Bogota to LAX and the flight was diverted to San Diego. Me and my wife met her at Lindbergh Field. Her vest was full of gold and emerald jewelry and she had rolls of $100.00 bills to deposit in US accounts. Columbia did not allow assets to be taken out of the country.

The writing is as beautiful as the subject!

Why I relish hiking and exploring Clear Creek in San Benito County, California. "Clear Creek area, one of the most highly mineralized areas in California, by the presence of over 150 semi-precious minerals and gemstones. Among these are serpentine, jadeite, cinnabar, tremolite, topazite, neptunite, and the extremely rare California state gem, benitoite." BLM - Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA)

so. This is rich. " . . . The rules of gem science are not cast in stone. . . ." and perforce, it goes, even without saying, that, they're not set in stone either. luvin' it.

There's a rock hound in all of us.

Whenever I see Natalie Angie's name in science, I know both the science and the quality of the writing will be top notch. Gemstones? She makes it interesting even without pictures.

God! I couldn't get past the fact that Mr. Klein did not see fit to give more to Mr. Daza then $10 and a mule! What do you think would have happened if Mr.Daza pulled out the emerald? The exact same thing I'm sure!!!!! Some things never change.

"their real value lies in what they tell scientists about extreme forces....." No it doesn't. Their real value lies in their beauty and rarity, the writer needs to get out of the lab now and then.

A photo caption says "They are the softest of the precious stones." Emeralds can be Mohs hardness 7.5, but there are a lot of other "precious" stones that are softer. Lapis Lazuli is a Mohs hardness 5. Opal is a Mohs hardness 5.5-6.5

Beautiful photo of the Patricia Emerald! I kept it up on my tablet screen just to have it nearby to look at. It is wondrous in its uncut state. Thanks backwards in time to Justo Daza for bringing it to us.

Mt. Erebus, the largest volcano in Antarctica, spews out tiny crystals of metallic gold into the air. This volcano is the only one known to emit gold in metallic form which puzzles geologists.

This is the first time I hear about the Patricia emerald, and now I'm wondering when is the AMHN going to take it back to Colombia. As the story is told here, Mr. Daza, a Colombian, was highly responsible for finding the emerald, and got very little compensation for it. It'd be great if his descendants, if he had them, could see his work. It'd be also nice for first-world countries to start returning, or at least lending back, some of the wonders they've taken from third-world countries. Hopefully we can now fix the mistakes made by the explorers of yesteryear.

Thanks for the very good article. In the 35 years when I had my own custom jewelry store I used to say to customers " Better watch out, if you stay much longer I will have to give you the chromium lecture. " Chromium not only colors rubies red and emeralds green, it colors Alexandrite both red and green in the same stone but different light sources. Also it is the oxide coloring garnet both green in Tsavorite garnet and intense red in some pyrope garnet. Gotta love it ! ps. Making a Record - Diamond, Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald has me talking about those gems on a recording made with those gems each cut as a stylus and then made into pendants with other forms of the gem and 22k gold. It was included in the Pulitzer Art Collection in 2014 as the project of Aaron Davidson and Melissa Dubbin.

Congratulations, Ms. Angier! On a lively--entertaining--and instructive piece of writing. Not all scientific writing is like that. Dear me, no! Scientists can SOMETIMES (not always) be dull as ditch water when expounding their own views and observations. But you weren't! Not at all. Your article was FASCINATING! "Stygian whips of high heat and pressure!" Brava, Ms. Angier. Makes the whole process come alive. (So to speak.) I love it. Funny how things turn out. Once the gems are cut and polished--strung on a string or stuck in a ring--they give me no thrill at all. I've seen the Hope diamond in the Smithsonian. Once or twice. Heavily guarded, of course. And my reaction is "Bleh!" Simply another piece of elaborate jewelry. Gems uncut, unpolished (well, SOMEWHAT unpolished)--those give me the thrill. As a child, I remember visiting the Field Museum of Natural History (in Chicago)--mounting those massive stairs--turning off to the right (where an armed guard stood at the door)--wandering into a small room devoted to precious stones. (Not neglecting a massive gold nugget parked near the door.) Oh the joy! Seeing the photos in your article, Ms. Angier, brought back that old frisson of pleasure and satisfaction. Now the SCIENCE connected with all those precious stones!. . . . . . .THAT I never thought of at all. Thanks!

Thank you Ms. Angier for a wonderfully written article about these beautiful gems found in nature. As you explain, they are combinations of atoms/ions bonded in unique ways producing fantastic colors. I had forgotten how much I enjoy this subject. Thank you.

I never cease to be amazed that infinitesimally small inorganic molecules spontaneously crystallize (under the right conditions) and form the basic geometric shapes that tell us so much about how the atoms in the molecules are shaped and how they are bonded to each other. And they are so beautiful.

My father took me to see the gems at AMNH when they were in cases so high he had to lift me up to see them. He did the same for my siblings as they came along. I remember when the current display opened and my children loved it! But I didn't have to lift them up to see the gems. I hope I am able to visit the new installation in 2019!

Although not an athlete, I took Rocks for Jocks in college (as well as Physics for Poets) and your article reminded me of why I fell in love with these miracles of Mother Earth. I can't wait to see the new halls of gems and minerals when they open. Thank you for your wonderful article!

I have been a collector of gem crystals since I was age twelve. I got hooked when I discovered Maine's native tourmalines during summer trips. When I was a bit older my dad left me off in front of Harry Winston's and said go on in and ask to see the Hope diamond. That was before it was donated to the Smithsonian. I did indeed go into the showroom, which at that time had a case devoted to each of the four precious gems, one to a corner. They sat me down at a viewing table, and I made my request to see the Hope. Sure enough a short time later a man appeared with a flat leather necklace case and opened it. There was the Hope in its usual necklace setting. I picked it up and looked it over carefully. After that they gave me a tour of one of the cutting rooms and gave me a small chipped cut diamond for my collection. I hope this article encourages others to take an interest in the fascinating world of gems.

Thanks for this charming, informative beautifully written article!

Love this article - I collect gems and always wanted to know more about the miracles of nature. Thanks

Thank you, Ms. Angier. This article is so well written that it makes me want to go back to university to study geology!

i'd like to dig up something wonderful. if not a beautiful and rare gemstone, then at least a Clovis point. only things i've ever found in the ground were old marbles in the backyard, gems of a sort.

Delightfully written, and wekk explained. The immense physical upheaval that brought these gems to the hands of humans had caused a parallel degree of upheaval in the world that demands ownership of gold and the finest gems as signs of wealth and power.