1 Palaeolithic age
As a species, we love to adorn ourselves with jewelry, makeup, hair accessories. We do it now to...

10 Fluorescence
We're all familiar with the 4Cs of diamonds - cut, color, clarity and carat weight. But diamonds...

11 Fire
The term fire is commonly used to describe a diamond, but what does it refer to? The ancient Greeks...

12 Carats
Many people equate the term carat with the size of a diamond, and as carat size increases, so will...

13 Shapes
The cut of a diamond refers to the way the stone is shaped and polished, how the facets are...

14 Color
When it comes to the 4Cs of diamonds, color, or lack of it, is an especially important...

15 Clarity
Diamond clarity is one the 4Cs of diamond qualities. It refers to any flaws, or inclusions in the...

17 Care of diamonds
Diamonds are durable and strong, but should be cared for as though they were fine breakable china...

18 Royalty diamonds
When did diamonds first become recognized as precious stones and used for jewelry? The earliest...

19 Smithsonian Collection
Some of the world's most spectacular diamonds and other gems are located in the National Gem...

2 Minerals are crystals
The earliest forms of jewelry were items that early humans found naturally, such as shells or bits...

20 Hope Diamond
Is there anyone who hasn't at least heard of the famous Hope Diamond? Many people are surprised...

21 Napoleon Diamond Necklace
One of the most spectacular all-diamond pieces of jewelry in the Smithsonian Insitution is the...

22 Blue Heart Diamond
There is a spectacular diamond in the Smithsonian Collection called the Blue Heart Diamond. Fans of...

23 Marie Louis Diadem
There were a few benefits to marrying the Emperor Napoleon, if you loved jewelry, that is! The...

24 Marie Antoinette Earrings
There's no more fascinating subject in history than the doomed French Queen Marie Antoinette. Much...

25 Spanish Inquisition Necklace
One doesn't normally associate beautiful jewelry with the time of the Spanish Inquisition. But in...

26 Portuguese diamond
There's something so exciting about these incredibly large and perfect stones. Sometimes they have...

27 Hooker emerald
There's something incredibly mysterious about the largest emeralds. It's one of the rarest of...

28 Victoria Transvaal Diamond
The Victoria-Transvaal is a 67.89-carat, brownish-yellow pear shaped stone. It was cut from a...

29 American Topaz
The world's largest cut topaz, called the American Topaz, resides at the Smithsonian Institution in...

3 Gemstones are mineral crystals
What specifically are gems and gemstones? We know some of the most common ones - emeralds, rubies,...

30 How diamonds made
Diamonds form between 75-120 miles below the earth's surface. According to geologists the first...

35 Corundum
Corundum is the form of mineral from which sapphires and rubies are derived. The mineral is...

36 Ruby and Sapphire
It's hard to imagine that a mineral with a name as mundane as corundum yields gems as exquisite as...

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