and those that nature did create but are so rare and costly that man decided to copy them. i own some CZ's and have some Diamonique on the way. the CZ's are very bright and i can tell a bit of difference between it and my real stone (but that could be because i know which is which). i'd like to see more alexandrite in an affordable range.

I want those teal diamonds I saw...

teal diamonds? were they real? do you have a link? wanted to write QVC and ask about them picking up simulated alexandrites during their June birthmonth jewelry shows instead of pearls all the time.

excuse my ignorance and sorry for butting in!!! but whats a teal diamond.I am an enviromental scientist(in the making)and I get to study rocks but never heard of this!

Oh Tim! I wish I could find a picture of colored diamonds. I saw the most amazing collection at the British Museum of Natural History on Cromwell Road in London. Brilliant reds, sapphire blues, emerald greens and every possible coloration you could imagine. Un furtunatly they are pretty tiny, even for a diamond. The teal blue diamonds looked like a tropical sea. They are often from Russian sources and bit less expensive than those DeBeers controls. This page has links to some rather interesting colored diamonds. Natural, of course! http://www.colored-diamonds.com/page7.htm

i'll have to check my gemstone book. i'll bet those stones are lovely!

Check the stones on the above website. The photos are not great, but they have a blue one I would like to have. Oh, yes... The Hope Diamond is a royal blue natural diamond!

found a pic of a green diamond but this book shows no blue one...hmmmmmm, it's listed as an "other gems" under the sometimes blue portion of my book. you know, i had the opportunity to see the hope diamond several years ago but was on limited time and the line was sooooo long.

am gonna look in my other gem book.....ok, S&S's guide to gems and precious stones has a picture of a dresden green pear shaped diamond. the book also shows some copies of famous blue diamonds.

Ooooh yes!!! That Dresden green I think I posted in Geo 8 (Precious stones) Now, I would accept that instead of an emerald, any day!

Marcia, certainly you're not hard to please. The Dresden Green! What's an emerald when you can have the Dresden Green.

Uh huh!!! I posted a picture of it in Geo 9 a while ago. It is stunning! I'd be happy just to look at it!

k, my man-made diamonds earrings (set of 3) came in today and they are stunning. i'm amazed that they don't look like cut glass. (and they're a believable size if you know what i mean)

...man-made diamonds?? As in lab created? 100% pure carbon in crystalline form? What color and where did you find them? I'm hunting for those teal ones again. No, I don't need more rings. Yes, I want a colored diamond...*sigh But, you know me. I won't ever buy stuff for me.

oooooo, christmas is coming!! *wink* diamonique diamonds--lab created. i did wear some non-diamond non-manmade lookalikes to a jewelry store once and the jeweler commented on how pretty they were!! (do they really know their stuff?) the flyer that comes with the jewels says that these are of better quality than your typical CZ's plus, they are mounted in precious metals, unlike your typical CZ's as well. the matching pendants are on backorder (and they come with a chain--all in 14K)

Ohh yes!!! I have beautiful colored stones from when the old USSR broke up. I have better CZ stones unset than most diamonds you can buy, simply because they were confiscated to keep diamonds artificially high in price. Yup, Wolfie, I have one for you!

Before you all judge my comments by what you have seen of CZs available commercially, do not be mistaken by what the diamond oligarchy wishes you to think about them. The Russians created absolutely perfect specimens which out-shine every diamond I have ever seen.

Hmmmm then there is my laser ruby. I think I have gotten my last precious stone unless I get it for myself. I already have all I need. *sigh*

i used to be a fake stone snob but not anymore. especially not after all i've learned right here in geo and grabbing my gem books. real ones are excellent but good quality lab-created stones are wonderful too.

Nor I. Actually I saw some Diamonique today which was stunning. Good choice! You have got it exactly right. Keep it in the size range of the diamond you might have really been able to afford. Smart lady, our Wolfie!! I especially like the colored ones!!!

I really don't WANT to fatten the gem trade cartel bank accounts. I'll take a pure lab created one every time. I agree with you entirely! They can even adjust the color without making them radioactive! We all win in this case. Tis the season for fantastic dreams. Let me know if you find anything new and wondrous. I've learned from you, too!

*blush*

*Hugs* That's what twins are for!

On your mentioning of cartels, I have read that diamonds are not as rare as some would have us think. The diamond cartel, De Beers, has done an extraordinary job of creating and maintaining that belief. It was also inferred that by their successful marketing of the diamond as the symbol of love, De Beers has also kept the prices of diamonds where they want them.

Diamonds are not rare at all. The hoarding and rationing of them by DeBeers is what keeps the price high. They hand pick what diamonds 12 select jewelers may purchase each year. The jewelers have no choice in the matter if they want to keep their supply channels open. The rest of us wear the recut chips from the larger stones the BIG jewelers sell. But, that goes for other precious stones, as well. Cheap skilled labor makes India one of the largest sources of recut "waste" from large stone cutting. If I'm going to be beset by thieves who want my jewelry, I'd much rather give them a large lab creation than an expensive natural gemstone. Of course, I can say that because the probability of my owning a large natural gemstone is just about nil.

it's crazy what businesses will do to make money--christmas for instance, soon it's gonna be year-round!

Oh yes!!! They will put away the Christmas ornaments and get out the Valentines...then, Mother's Day.. then Graduation. And so on. Wolfie, I have just figured out the best excuse to buy pretty things which sparkle. I do not have heirlooms but I have just gotten a daughter via marriage to my son. She NEEDS to have goodies to in herit. So does your daughter. What a great excuse! I'm back to tending the Angel Tree. I'll check out Zales, Penneys and Sears - they are my only options within range of my duties!

our office is working on the angel tree too but not in the mall-we'll be bringing the paper angels back (i think). who do you think i use as an excuse to buy barbies? *laugh* marcia, did i email my new address to you?

Yup, I have your new address, thanks! (I'd have been plaguing you if I had not!) The angels are cute and I am probably incredibly foolish-looking sitting at the table in front of the tree surrounded by little tags and wearing my own halo. oh well. The cause is worthy. We're Twins again!

we've always been! i think it would've been neat to have seen it!!

Yup..... me too. There will be more!!!

oh goody!!! *giggle*

With some reaally bad luck I may just have my picture taken in my halo for very personal distriburion, of course!

of course!!

A new contender for the "ultimate" diamond simulant - you are not buying meteoritic Moissanite or natural stones when you buy in most places. It is an expensive way to get crystalline Silicon Carbide. Moissanite's brilliance, hardness, weight and scratch resistance rival all other gemstones. This gemstone possesses all the romance and passion of rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Moissanite is found only in meteorites and in limited areas beneath the earth's surface. In the past year, the quality of Moissanite has gotten very consistent. We hand-pick only the finest stones and all of them are VS1-VVS Clarity and in the I-J Color range. (Round stones seem to be more consistant & generally appear whiter than fancy cuts) Since lab-created Moissanite has the closest physical properties to that of a diamond, it tests as a "diamond" on conventional diamond testers. Many jewelers cannot tell the difference from a diamond!!! from: http://www.moissanitejewelry.com/info.htm

would one be able to fine this mineral in a volcanic region?

I've not seen mention of volcanoes in regards to formation of Silicon Carbonate, but I suspect it is the lack of Carbonate, and not the abundant silicon, which is lacking. I am curious about that. Certainly, meteorites are passed though enormous inensities of heat before we get to see them. Excellent question; I'll be right back with what I discover.

Indeed, Wolfie, you are right! Alas, we have no kimberlite nor diamonds in Hawaii that I know of. I will search further! The significance of moissanite (SiC) in the mantle Moissanite occurs as a trace, but apparently widespread, mineral in kimberlites and related rocks. The problem posed by its occurrence is that moissanite is stable only under conditions much more reduced than are expected to exist anywhere in the upper mantle. Apparently its formation requires very special and localized conditions, possibly related to subduction of carbonaceous sedimentary materials. In an effort to understand more about the significance of moissanite and what it tells us about mantle processes, we are engaged in studies of moissanite from various localities. These studies involve documenting and characterizing the unusual mineral inclusion suite in moissanite and determining carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions. http://research.amnh.org/earthplan/research/ed_sic.html

Kimberlites Kimberlites are ultramafic igneous bodies that contain a variety of minerals and inclusions of other rocks. Kimberlites are particularly important economically speaking because they are the major source of natural diamonds. Mantle Xenoliths Mantle xenoliths are ultramafic rocks that are found in the crust of the earth, but which were apparently formed within the earth's mantle. "Xenolith" actually means "foreign rock". Mantle xenoliths are found within some basalts and in kimberlites. http://research.amnh.org/earthplan/collects/rocks.html#kim I have several specimens of Mantle Xenoliths from Hawaii. Now, to find if they are anything but solid peridotite...

almost sounds like this mineral is a close relative of diamonds, maybe one that didn't quite finish up or something. diamonds are the result of coal, heat, and pressure, right? i dunno, i think of those things belonging to volcanoes too!