![]() Gems cut from red beryl have been sold for over $10,000 per carat. High-quality 8x10 millimeter jade cabochons weigh about 2.5 carats and can sell for as much as $25,000. In 2004 the Aurora Australis Opal sold for $1 million, a price of over $5,500 per carat. The division of gemstones into the categories of "precious" and "semiprecious" might give some people the idea that "precious stones" are more valuable, more rare, more beautiful, or more desirable than "semiprecious stones." Here are just three of the problems with calling some stones "precious" on the basis of their value, rarity, beauty or desirability. Purging these terms from professional use would be difficult, but, eliminating them from common use would be nearly impossible - especially because some people really like these names.ĭoes "Precious" Mean Valuable, Rare, Beautiful or Desirable? Today the terms appear repeatedly in thousands of books, magazines, web pages, and other documents published by companies in the gem and jewelry industry, government agencies, and the most influential institutions in gemology. Over the past 150 years, scores of popular books have been written with the word "semiprecious" in their titles. Unfortunately, eliminating the word "semiprecious" from use would be extremely difficult. ![]() Perhaps these people want to cast all gems but a "precious few" under a derogatory light? They think that there should be "precious stones" and "other stones". Some people believe that the word "semiprecious" is derogatory, irreverent, misleading, or confusing, and that its use should be discontinued. gemstone imports for consumption reported by the United States Geological Survey. Precious stones also account for over 98% of the dollar value of U.S. This idea is somewhat supported by the fact that diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds generally cost more per carat than semiprecious stones. Separating stones into "precious" and "semiprecious" classes has led many people to believe that "precious stones" are more important and more valuable than "semiprecious stones." Some people have included opal, jade, or pearls in the "precious stones" class, but these have not received persistent and widespread use. ![]() Precious stones are usually transparent and cut by faceting - like the stones shown in the accompanying image. "Precious stones" is a name that is usually used in reference to four types of gems: diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Images copyright iStockphoto / Greg Stanfield (diamond), Coprid (sapphire), and mikheewnik (ruby and emerald). The four "precious" stones: Diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald. ![]()
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