Whether we realize it or not, we are living in a world that is not fully glass and metal yet. There is still a great number of natural materials that are used for decorative and utility purposes that surround us on a daily basis. Stones and especially wholesale gemstones are the materials that – alongside with wood – are used widely.
It would be reckless not to try to find out more about the stones that surround us. Did you know that granite and marble could absorb and store radioactivity? That high pressure and temperature applied to a piece of a regular pencil graphite can turn it into a diamond? And these are just a few examples.
Mineralogy is a branch of science dealing in stones in general. Stones and their qualities had been studied for ages and ages. After all, wasn't one of the first ever tools that humanity adopted was a stone – hence the Stone Age. There are ancient stones that still fascinate and mystify us – the great pyramids in Africa, South America and even China, the Stonehenge, the Easter Island stone heads.
In the ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome gemstones were believed to be able to influence the state of health or even cure come diseases through application. This belief had been carried through the centuries and adopted by the alchemists who used to grind the stones and especially precious stones into powder and try to transform regular elements into mercury or gold.
Though chemistry benefited from the alchemists' researches more than geology, jewelers of all times had also learned a thing or two about gemstones throughout the ages. Gemology – a science focusing on gemstones exclusively is a living proof of the fact that the knowledge about precious stones is also vital for our understanding of the world. There are many things that we all could learn about the gemstones we use in our routine. Even if it might seem unlike a piece of information that may save your life someday, but knowing a thing or two about the crystals on your new necklace or your cuff-links may turn out at least emotionally rewarding. There is no such thing as excessive knowledge of anything, after all.