1.
Gemstone
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A gemstone is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks or organic materials that are not minerals are used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their luster or other properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone, apart from jewelry, from earliest antiquity engraved gems and hardstone carvings, such as cups, were major luxury art forms. A gem maker is called a lapidary or gemcutter, a worker is a diamantaire. The carvings of Carl Fabergé are significant works in this tradition, the traditional classification in the West, which goes back to the ancient Greeks, begins with a distinction between precious and semi-precious, similar distinctions are made in other cultures. In modern usage the precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire, other stones are classified by their color, translucency and hardness. Another unscientific term for semi-precious gemstones used in art history and archaeology is hardstone, in modern times gemstones are identified by gemologists, who describe gems and their characteristics using technical terminology specific to the field of gemology. The first characteristic a gemologist uses to identify a gemstone is its chemical composition, for example, diamonds are made of carbon and rubies of aluminium oxide. Next, many gems are crystals which are classified by their crystal system such as cubic or trigonal or monoclinic, another term used is habit, the form the gem is usually found in. For example, diamonds, which have a crystal system, are often found as octahedrons. Gemstones are classified into different groups, species, and varieties, for example, ruby is the red variety of the species corundum, while any other color of corundum is considered sapphire. Other examples are the Emerald, aquamarine, red beryl, goshenite, heliodor, and morganite, gems are characterized in terms of refractive index, dispersion, specific gravity, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and luster. They may exhibit pleochroism or double refraction and they may have luminescence and a distinctive absorption spectrum. Material or flaws within a stone may be present as inclusions, gemstones may also be classified in terms of their water. This is a grading of the gems luster, transparency. Very transparent gems are considered first water, while second or third water gems are those of a lesser transparency, there is no universally accepted grading system for gemstones. Diamonds are graded using a system developed by the Gemological Institute of America in the early 1950s, historically, all gemstones were graded using the naked eye
Gemstone
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A selection of gemstone pebbles made by tumbling rough rock with abrasive grit, in a rotating drum. The biggest pebble here is 40 mm long (1.6 inches).
Gemstone
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Group of precious and semiprecious stones —both uncut and faceted— including (clockwise from top left)
diamond, uncut synthetic
sapphire,
ruby, uncut
emerald, and
amethyst crystal cluster.
Gemstone
–
Spanish emerald and gold pendant at
Victoria and Albert Museum
Gemstone
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Enamelled gold, amethyst and pearl pendant, about 1880, Pasquale Novissimo (1844–1914), V&A Museum number M.36-1928
2.
Jewelry
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Jewellery or jewelry consists of small decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes, for many centuries metal, often combined with gemstones, has been the normal material for jewellery, but other materials such as shells and other plant materials may be used. It is one of the oldest type of archaeological artefact – with 100, historically, the most widespread influence on jewellery in terms of design and style have come from Asia. Jewellery may be made from a range of materials. Gemstones and similar such as amber and coral, precious metals, beads, and shells have been widely used. In most cultures jewellery can be understood as a symbol, for its material properties, its patterns. Jewellery has been made to nearly every body part, from hairpins to toe rings. The word jewellery itself is derived from the jewel, which was anglicised from the Old French jouel. In British English, Indian English, New Zealand English, Hiberno-English, Australian English, both are used in Canadian English, though jewelry prevails by a two to one margin. Numerous cultures store wedding dowries in the form of jewellery or make jewellery as a means to store or display coins, alternatively, jewellery has been used as a currency or trade good, an example being the use of slave beads. Many items of jewellery, such as brooches and buckles, originated as functional items. Jewellery can also symbolise group membership or status, wearing of amulets and devotional medals to provide protection or ward off evil is common in some cultures. These may take the form of symbols, stones, plants, animals, body parts, in creating jewellery, gemstones, coins, or other precious items are often used, and they are typically set into precious metals. Alloys of nearly every metal known have been encountered in jewellery, bronze, for example, was common in Roman times. Modern fine jewellery usually includes gold, white gold, platinum, palladium, titanium, most contemporary gold jewellery is made of an alloy of gold, the purity of which is stated in karats, indicated by a number followed by the letter K. American gold jewellery must be of at least 10K purity, many whimsical fashions were introduced in the extravagant eighteenth century. Cameos that were used in connection with jewellery were the attractive trinkets along with many of the objects such as brooches, ear-rings. Some of the necklets were made of pieces joined with the gold chains were in and bracelets were also made sometimes to match the necklet
Jewelry
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Amber pendants
Jewelry
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Diamond temptation design
Jewelry
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The Queen
Farida of Egypt red coral parure by Ascione manufacture, 1938, Naples,
Coral Jewellery Museum
Jewelry
–
The
Daria-i-Noor (meaning: Sea of Light) Diamond from the collection of the national jewels of Iran at
Central Bank of Islamic Republic of Iran
3.
Pendant
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The word pendant derives from the Latin word pendere, and Old French word pendre, both of which translate to to hang down. It comes in the form of a piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace. A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down, in some case though the separation between necklace and pendant is far clearer. Pendants are among the oldest recorded types of bodily adornment, stone, shell, pottery, and more perishable materials were used. Ancient Egyptians commonly wore pendants, some shaped like hieroglyphs, pendants can have several functions, which may be combined, Award Identification Ornamentation Ostentation. Protection Self-affirmation The many specialized types of pendants include lockets which open, often to reveal an image, and pendilia, throughout the ages, pendants have come in a variety of forms to serve a variety of purposes. Though amulets come in forms, a wearable amulet worn around the neck or on the arm or leg in the form of a pendant is the most common. These are objects believed to possess magical or spiritual power to protect the wearer from danger or dispel evil influences, similar to an amulet, a talisman is an object believed to possess supernatural traits. However, while an amulet is strictly a defensive object, a talisman is meant to confer special benefits or powers upon the wearer. A locket is an object that opens to reveal a space which serves to hold a small object. They typically come in the form of a pendant hanging from a necklace, a medallion is most often a coin-shaped piece of metal worn as a pendant around the neck or pinned onto clothing. These are generally granted as awards, recognitions, or religious blessings, tools worn as pendants include Maori pounamu pendants. Shepherds whistles, bosuns whistles, and ocarinas can also be made as pendants, portable astronomical and navigational instruments were made as pendants. In the first decade of the 21st century, jewellers started to incorporate USB flash drives into pendants
Pendant
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Amber pendants
Pendant
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Wedding pendant with 21 beads used by
Saint Thomas Christians of India
Pendant
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Spanish pendant at
Victoria and Albert Museum.
Pendant
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Indonesian pendants
4.
Josephus
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Josephus claimed the Jewish Messianic prophecies that initiated the First Roman-Jewish War made reference to Vespasian becoming Emperor of Rome. In response Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave and interpreter, after Vespasian became Emperor in 69 CE, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperors family name of Flavius. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship and he became an advisor and friend of Vespasians son Titus, serving as his translator when Titus led the Siege of Jerusalem. Since the siege proved ineffective at stopping the Jewish revolt, the citys destruction, Josephus recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the first century CE and the First Jewish–Roman War, including the Siege of Masada. His most important works were The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews, the Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Roman audience and these works provide valuable insight into first century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity. Josephus introduces himself in Greek as Iōsēpos, son of Matthias and he was the second-born son of Matthias. His older full-blooded brother was also called Matthias and their mother was an aristocratic woman who descended from the royal and formerly ruling Hasmonean dynasty. Josephuss paternal grandparents were Josephus and his wife—an unnamed Hebrew noblewoman, distant relatives of each other and he descended through his father from the priestly order of the Jehoiarib, which was the first of the 24 orders of priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. Josephus was a descendant of the high priest Jonathon, born and raised in Jerusalem, Josephus was educated alongside his brother. In his early twenties, he traveled to negotiate with Emperor Nero for the release of 12 Jewish priests, Josephus successfully fought the Roman army in Galilee, until he was captured by the Romans during the height of the war. After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands, according to Josephus, he was trapped in a cave with 40 of his companions in July 67 CE. The Romans asked the group to surrender, but they refused, Josephus suggested a method of collective suicide, they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, counting to every third person. Two men were left, who surrendered to the Roman forces, in 69 CE, Josephus was released. According to his account, he acted as a negotiator with the defenders during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, in which his parents and first wife died. While being confined at Yodfat, Josephus claimed to have experienced a divine revelation, after the prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine. In 71 CE, he went to Rome in the entourage of Titus, becoming a Roman citizen, in addition to Roman citizenship, he was granted accommodation in conquered Judaea and a decent, if not extravagant, pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage, Josephus wrote all of his known works, although he uses Josephus, he appears to have taken the Roman praenomen Titus and nomen Flavius from his patrons
Josephus
–
Photography of a Roman
portrait bust said to be of Josephus,
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Josephus
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Galilee, site of Josephus's governorship, before the First Jewish-Roman War
Josephus
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The
romanticized engraving of Flavius Josephus appearing in
William Whiston 's translation of his works
Josephus
–
The works of Josephus translated by
Thomas Lodge (1602).
5.
Priestly breastplate
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The priestly breastplate was a sacred breastplate worn by the High Priest of the Israelites, according to the Book of Exodus. In the biblical account, the breastplate is sometimes termed the breastplate of judgment and these stones were, at times, used to determine God’s will in a particular situation. It should be noted that using these stones did not always determine Gods will, if any other way was not given by God, the high priest would find Gods guidance. The description states that the breastplate was to be formed from one rectangular piece of cloth—⅓ of a cubit by ⅔ of a cubit. The Hebrew term for the breastplate, חֹשֶׁן, appears to be named from its appearance, probably derived from the source as Arabic حسن. The 19th-century German biblical scholar August Dillmann thought that it was likely to be derived from the Hebrew word חֹצֶן, meaning fold. According to the Talmud, the wearing of the Hoshen atoned for the sin of errors in judgement on the part of the Children of Israel, the word has its equivalent in the Greek, σμήρις. There was also a different order for the names inscribed on the two stones, carried on the High Priests shoulders. Others suggest that they were engraved with emery, having the property of a diamond used in cutting other stones. Explanation of the meaning of the jewels generated a great deal of both Jewish and Christian writing, and was a staple component of the tradition of lapidaries or books on gemology. The jewel stones are as follows, Odem / Sardios - both names mean red, and probably refers to Sard, a common stone in classical cultures. All authors agree that stone was of a red colour. The Chinese Union Version refers to this stone as being a ruby, bareḳet / Smaragdos - Bareketh etymologically means ‘lightning flash’, whence shimmering or shiny. Smaragdos was often used in Greek literature to refer to a bright crystal found in columnar formations. Emerald in the sense of green beryl exists locally in Egypt. Items carved from emerald are known from as early as the 12th Dynasty, 1900s BCE, but these emeralds are random finds, and not actively mined until the Ptolemaic period. Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies, is famous for her love for the Egyptian emerald, other minerals resembling emerald are heliodor and rock crystal, there is much to be said for Smaragdos being either of those. Although “emerald” is the most common used to describe the Hebrew word, bareḳet, in other sources
Priestly breastplate
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Ceramic replica of High Priest's breastplate
Priestly breastplate
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Illustration of priestly breastplate
Priestly breastplate
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Artist's conception of Jewish high priest wearing a hoshen in
ancient Judah.
6.
Book of Exodus
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The Book of Exodus or, simply, Exodus, is the second book of the Torah and the Hebrew Bible. The book tells how the Israelites leave slavery in Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, led by their prophet Moses they journey through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh promises them the land of Canaan in return for their faithfulness. There is no agreement among scholars on the structure of Exodus. One strong possibility is that it is a diptych, with the division between parts 1 and 2 at the crossing of the Red Sea or at the beginning of the theophany in chapter 19. On this plan, the first part tells of Gods rescue of his people from Egypt and their journey under his care to Sinai, jacobs sons and their families join their brother, Joseph, in Egypt. Once there, the Israelites begin to grow in number, several generations later, Egypts Pharaoh, fearful that the Israelites could be a fifth column, orders that all newborn boys be thrown into the Nile. A Levite woman saves her baby by setting him adrift on the river Nile in an ark of bulrushes, the Pharaohs daughter finds the child, names him Moses, and brings him up as her own. But Moses is aware of his origins, and one day, there he marries Zipporah, the daughter of Midianite priest Jethro, and encounters God in a burning bush. Moses asks God for his name, God replies, I AM that I AM, God tells Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Hebrews into Canaan, the land promised to Abraham. Moses returns to Egypt and fails to convince the Pharaoh to release the Israelites, God smites the Egyptians with 10 terrible plagues including a river of blood, many frogs, and the death of first-born sons. Moses leads the Israelites out of bondage after a chase when the Pharaoh reneges on his coerced consent. The desert proves arduous, and the Israelites complain and long for Egypt, the Israelites arrive at the mountain of God, where Moses father-in-law Jethro visits Moses, at his suggestion Moses appoints judges over Israel. God asks whether they agree to be his people. Moses is told to ascend the mountain, God pronounces the Ten Commandments in the hearing of all Israel. Moses goes up the mountain into the presence of God, who pronounces the Covenant Code, Moses comes down the mountain and writes down Gods words and the people agree to keep them. God calls Moses up the mountain where he remains for 40 days and 40 nights, at the conclusion of the 40 days and 40 nights, Moses returns holding the set of stone tablets. Aaron is appointed as the first hereditary high priest, God gives Moses the two tablets of stone containing the words of the ten commandments, written with the finger of God. While Moses is with God, Aaron makes a golden calf, God informs Moses of their apostasy and threatens to kill them all, but relents when Moses pleads for them
Book of Exodus
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Tanakh (Judaism)
Book of Exodus
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Moses with the Ten Commandments, by
Rembrandt (1659)
Book of Exodus
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"Departure of the Israelites", by
David Roberts, 1829
Book of Exodus
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"Crossing of the Red Sea",
Nicholas Poussin
7.
Zodiac
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The zodiac is an area of the sky centered upon the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets also remain close to the ecliptic, within the belt of the zodiac, in western astrology and astronomy, the zodiac is divided into twelve signs, each sign occupying 30° of celestial longitude. Because the signs are regular, they do not correspond exactly to the boundaries of the twelve constellations after which they are named, the English word zodiac derives from zōdiacus, the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek zōidiakòs kýklos, meaning circle of little animals. Zōidion is the diminutive of zōion, the name reflects the prominence of animals among the twelve signs. The construction of the zodiac is described in Ptolemys vast 2nd century AD work, the term zodiac may also refer to the region of the celestial sphere encompassing the paths of the planets corresponding to the band of about eight arc degrees above and below the ecliptic. The zodiac of a planet is the band that contains the path of that particular body, e. g. the zodiac of the Moon is the band of five degrees above. By extension, the zodiac of the comets may refer to the band encompassing most short-period comets, the division of the ecliptic into the zodiacal signs originates in Babylonian astronomy during the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The zodiac draws on stars in earlier Babylonian star catalogues, such as the MUL. APIN catalogue, around the end of the 5th century BC, Babylonian astronomers divided the ecliptic into twelve equal signs, by analogy to twelve schematic months of thirty days each. Each sign contained thirty degrees of longitude, thus creating the first known celestial coordinate system. Because the division was made into equal arcs, 30° each, in Babylonian astronomical diaries, a planet position was generally given with respect to a zodiacal sign alone, less often in specific degrees within a sign. When the degrees of longitude were given, they were expressed with reference to the 30° of the zodiacal sign, in astronomical ephemerides, the positions of significant astronomical phenomena were computed in sexagesimal fractions of a degree. For daily ephemerides, the positions of a planet were not as important as the astrologically significant dates when the planet crossed from one zodiacal sign to the next. The Babylonian star catalogs entered Greek astronomy in the 4th century BC, Babylonia or Chaldea in the Hellenistic world came to be so identified with astrology that Chaldean wisdom became among Greeks and Romans the synonym of divination through the planets and stars. Hellenistic astrology derived in part from Babylonian and Egyptian astrology, horoscopic astrology first appeared in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Dendera zodiac, a dating to ca.50 BC, is the first known depiction of the classical zodiac of twelve signs. The earliest extant Greek text using the Babylonian division of the zodiac into 12 signs of 30 equal degrees each is the Anaphoricus of Hypsicles of Alexandria. Particularly important in the development of Western horoscopic astrology was the astrologer and astronomer Ptolemy, whose work Tetrabiblos laid the basis of the Western astrological tradition. Under the Greeks, and Ptolemy in particular, the planets, Houses, Ptolemy lived in the 2nd century AD, three centuries after the discovery of the precession of the equinoxes by Hipparchus around 130 BC
Zodiac
–
The Earth in its orbit around the
Sun causes the Sun to appear on the celestial sphere moving over the
ecliptic (red), which is tilted with respect to the equator (blue-white).
Zodiac
–
Wheel of the zodiac: This 6th century mosaic pavement in a synagogue incorporates Greek-Byzantine elements,
Beit Alpha,
Israel.
Zodiac
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The 1st century BC
Dendera zodiac (19th-century engraving)
Zodiac
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Angers Cathedral South Rose Window of Christ (centre) with elders (bottom half) and Zodiac (top half). Mediaeval stained glass by Andre Robin after the fire of 1451
8.
Second Temple
–
The Second Temple was the Jewish Holy Temple which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, between 516 BCE and 70 CE. Jewish eschatology includes a belief that the Second Temple will be replaced by a future Third Temple, the accession of Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire in 559 BCE made the re-establishment of the city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple possible. According to the Bible, when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem following a decree from Cyrus the Great, the events take place in the second half of the 5th century BCE. Listed together with the Book of Ezra as Ezra-Nehemiah, it represents the chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible. The original core of the book, the memoir, may have been combined with the core of the Book of Ezra around 400 BCE. Further editing probably continued into the Hellenistic era, the book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in Susa, is informed that Jerusalem is without walls and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of the province Yehud Medinata, there he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israels enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of Moses. After 12 years in Jerusalem, he returns to Susa but subsequently revisits Jerusalem and he finds that the Israelites have been backsliding and taking non-Jewish wives, and he stays in Jerusalem to enforce the Law. A wide interest was felt in this movement, although it was regarded with mixed feelings by the spectators. The Samaritans made proposals for co-operation in the work, Zerubbabel and the elders, however, declined all such cooperation, feeling that the Jews must build the Temple without help. Immediately evil reports were spread regarding the Jews, according to Ezra 4,5, the Samaritans sought to frustrate their purpose and sent messengers to Ecbatana and Susa, with the result that the work was suspended. Seven years later, Cyrus the Great, who allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple, on his death, the false Smerdis, an impostor, occupied the throne for some seven or eight months, and then Darius became king. It was ready for consecration in the spring of 516 BCE, the Book of Haggai includes a prediction that the glory of the second temple would be greater than that of the first. Some of the artifacts from the Temple of Solomon are not mentioned in the sources after its destruction in 597 BCE. In the Second Temple, the Kodesh Hakodashim was separated by curtains rather than a wall as in the First Temple. Still, as in the Tabernacle, the Second Temple included, The Menorah for the Hekhal The Table of Showbread The golden altar of incense, with golden censers. According to the Mishnah, the Foundation Stone stood where the Ark used to be, the Second Temple also included many of the original vessels of gold that had been taken by the Babylonians but restored by Cyrus the Great. According to the Babylonian Talmud, however, the Temple lacked the Shekinah, the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, and the Ruach HaKodesh, judea became at that moment part of the Seleucid empire of Syria
Second Temple
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Model of Herod's Temple (a renovation of the Second Temple) in the
Israel Museum, created in 1966 as part of the
Holyland Model of Jerusalem. The model was inspired by the writings of
Josephus.
Second Temple
–
This picture shows the temple as imagined in 1966 in the
Holyland Model of Jerusalem.
Second Temple
–
James Tissot - Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod -
Brooklyn Museum
Second Temple
–
2A model of the Southern wall and Royal Colonnade
9.
Jerome
–
Jerome was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian. He was the son of Eusebius, born at Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia and he is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin, and his commentaries on the Gospels. His list of writings is extensive, the protégé of Pope Damasus I, who died in December of 384, Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention to the lives of women and this focus stemmed from his close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent senatorial families. He is recognised as a Saint and Doctor of the Church by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and his feast day is 30 September. Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347 A. D and he was of Illyrian ancestry and his native tongue was the Illyrian dialect. He was not baptized until about 360–366 A. D. when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus to pursue rhetorical and philosophical studies and he studied under the grammarian Aelius Donatus. There Jerome learned Latin and at least some Greek, though not the familiarity with Greek literature he would later claim to have acquired as a schoolboy. As a student in Rome, he engaged in the superficial escapades and wanton behaviour of students there, to appease his conscience, he would visit on Sundays the sepulchres of the martyrs and the Apostles in the catacombs. Here and there the light, not entering in through windows, but again, as soon as you found yourself cautiously moving forward, the black night closed around and there came to my mind the line of Vergil, Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia terrent. Jerome used a quote from Virgil—On all sides round horror spread wide, although initially skeptical of Christianity, he was eventually converted. Next came a stay of at least several months, or possibly years, with Rufinus at Aquileia, some of these accompanied him when he set out about 373 on a journey through Thrace and Asia Minor into northern Syria. At Antioch, where he stayed the longest, two of his companions died and he himself was seriously ill more than once, during one of these illnesses, he had a vision that led him to lay aside his secular studies and devote himself to God. Seized with a desire for a life of penance, he went for a time to the desert of Chalcis, to the southeast of Antioch, known as the Syrian Thebaid. During this period, he seems to have time for studying and writing. He made his first attempt to learn Hebrew under the guidance of a converted Jew, Jerome translated parts of this Hebrew Gospel into Greek. Returning to Antioch in 378 or 379, he was ordained by Bishop Paulinus, apparently unwillingly, soon afterward, he went to Constantinople to pursue a study of Scripture under Gregory Nazianzen. He seems to have spent two years there, then left, and the three he was in Rome again, as secretary to Pope Damasus I and the leading Roman Christians
Jerome
–
Saint Jerome in the Wilderness by
Bernardino Pinturicchio
Jerome
–
St. Jerome in His Study (1480), by
Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Jerome
–
St. Jerome reading in the countryside, by
Giovanni Bellini
Jerome
–
This painting by Antonio da Fabriano II, depicts St. Jerome in study. The writing implements, scrolls, and manuscripts testify to Jerome's scholarly pursuits. The Walters Art Museum.
10.
New Jerusalem
–
The prophecy is recorded by Ezekiel as having been received on Yom Kippur of the year 3372 of the Hebrew calendar. It will be inhabited by people to live eternally in spirit form, not everyone will reside in New Jerusalem, as most will possibly stay on Earth. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, the city is called the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Babylonian threat to the Kingdom of Judah began as the Babylonian Empire conquered Assyria, Jerusalem surrendered without major bloodshed to Babylon in 597. An Israelite uprising brought the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar’s army upon Jerusalem in 586 BCE, the entire city, including the First Temple, was burned. Israelite aristocrats were taken captive to Babylon, the Book of Ezekiel contains the first record of the New Jerusalem. Within Ezekiel 40-48, there is an extended and detailed description of the measurements of the Temple, its chambers, porticos, Ezekiel 48, 30-35 contains a list of twelve Temple gates named for Israel’s tribes. The Book of Zechariah expands upon Ezekiel’s New Jerusalem, after the Second Temple was built after the exile, Jerusalem’s population was only a few hundred. There were no city walls until 445 BCE. In the passage, the author writes about a city wall of fire to protect the enormous population and this text demonstrates the beginning of a progression of New Jerusalem thought. In Ezekiel, the focus is primarily on the act of Temple construction. In Zechariah, the focus shifts to God’s intercession in the founding of New Jerusalem, New Jerusalem is further extrapolated in Isaiah, where New Jerusalem is adorned with precious sapphires, jewels, and rubies. The city is described as a free from terror and full of righteousness. Here, Isaiah provides an example of Jewish apocalypticism, where a hope for a perfected Jerusalem, as the original New Jerusalem composition, Ezekiel functioned as a source for later works such as 4 Ezra,2 Baruch, Qumran documents, and the Book of Revelation. These texts used similar measurement language and expanded on the limited eschatological perspective in Ezekiel, Judaism sees the Messiah as a human male descendant of King David who will be anointed as the king of Israel and sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. He will gather in the lost tribes of Israel, clarify unresolved issues of halakha, Zechariah prophesied that any family among the nations who does not appear in the Temple in Jerusalem for the festival of Sukkoth will have no rain that year. Isaiah prophesied that the rebuilt Temple will be a house of prayer for all nations, the city of YHWH Shamma, the new Jerusalem, will be the gathering point of the worlds nations, and will serve as the capital of the renewed Kingdom of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that this city will have 12 gates, one gate for each of the tribes of Israel
New Jerusalem
–
John of Patmos watches the descent of the New Jerusalem from
God in a 14th century tapestry.
New Jerusalem
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The New Jerusalem and the River of Life (Apocalypse XII), Beatus de Facundus, 1047
New Jerusalem
–
Folio 55r of the
Bamberg Apocalypse depicts the angel showing John the New Jerusalem, with the Lamb of God at its center.
New Jerusalem
–
The angel measures the New Jerusalem with the rod or reed. Note the Lamb of God and the twelve sets of figures, gates, and stones.
11.
Revelation
–
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Some religions have religious texts which they view as divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired, for instance, Orthodox Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that the Torah was received from Yahweh on biblical Mount Sinai. Most Christians believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament were inspired by God, Muslims believe the Quran was revealed by God to Muhammad word by word through the angel Gabriel. In Hinduism, some Vedas are considered apauruṣeya, not human compositions, and are supposed to have been directly revealed, and thus are called śruti, what is heard. The 15,000 handwritten pages produced by the mystic Maria Valtorta were represented as direct dictations from Jesus, aleister Crowley stated that The Book of the Law had been revealed to him through a higher being that called itself Aiwass. A revelation communicated by a supernatural entity reported as being present during the event is called a vision, direct conversations between the recipient and the supernatural entity, or physical marks such as stigmata, have been reported. In rare cases, such as that of Saint Juan Diego, the Roman Catholic concept of interior locution includes just an inner voice heard by the recipient. In the Abrahamic religions, the term is used to refer to the process by which God reveals knowledge of himself, his will, in secondary usage, revelation refers to the resulting human knowledge about God, prophecy, and other divine things. Revelation from a supernatural source plays an important role in some other religious traditions such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. Revelation may be defined as the communication of truth by God to a rational creature through means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature. George Joyce draws a distinction between revelation and inspiration, with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, beginning about the mid-17th century, the development of rationalism, materialism and atheism, the concept of supernatural revelation itself faced skepticism. In The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine develops the theology of deism, rejecting the possibility of miracles, Thomas Aquinas believed in two types of individual revelation from God, general revelation and special revelation. In general revelation, God reveals himself through his creation, such that at least some truths about God can be learned by the study of nature, physics, cosmology. Special revelation is the knowledge of God and spiritual matters which can be discovered through supernatural means, such as scripture or miracles, direct revelation refers to communication from God to someone in particular. Though one may deduce the existence of God and some of Gods attributes through general revelation, Aquinas believed that special revelation is equivalent to the revelation of God in Jesus. The major theological components of Christianity, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, are revealed in the teachings of the church, special revelation and natural revelation are complementary rather than contradictory in nature. Continuous revelation is a term for the position that God continues to reveal divine principles or commandments to humanity. In the 20th century, religious existentialists proposed that revelation held no content in and of itself, Revelation is a human response that records how we respond to God
Revelation
–
Illumination from
Liber Scivias, showing
Hildegard of Bingen receiving a vision, dictating to her scribe and sketching on a wax tablet.
Revelation
–
The mass-revelation at the
Mount Horeb in an illustration from a Christian Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company, 1907
Revelation
–
'Revelation writing': The first draft of a tablet of
Bahá'u'lláh
Revelation
–
An 1893 engraving of
Joseph Smith receiving the
golden plates and other artifacts from the
angel Moroni.
12.
Christianity
–
Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
Christianity
–
An
Eastern Christian icon depicting
Emperor Constantine and the Fathers of the
First Council of Nicaea (325) as holding the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381
Christianity
–
Various
depictions of Jesus
Christianity
–
Crucifixion, representing the death of
Jesus on the
Cross, painting by
Diego Velázquez, 17th century
13.
Apostle
–
An apostle is a messenger and ambassador. The purpose of sending away is to convey messages. The term may be used metaphorically in various contexts, but is found used specifically for early associates of the founder of a religion. The word in this sense derives from New Testament Greek and was used for the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus, some other religions use the term for comparable figures in their history. The adjective apostolic is claimed as a continuing characteristic by many Christian churches, the term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος, meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από. The literal meaning in English is therefore an emissary, from the Latin mitto, the word apostle has two meanings, the broader meaning of a messenger and the narrow meaning of an early Christian apostle directly linked to Jesus. The more general meaning of the word is translated into Latin as missio, according to Walter Bauers Greek-English Lexicon of the NT …Judaism had an office known as apostle. The UBS Greek Dictionary also describes an apostle broadly as a messenger, before their sending away, the Twelve had been mere disciples, from Latin discipulus, one who learns, from disco, to learn. Jesus is stated in the Bible to have had twelve apostles who by the Great Commission spread the message of the Gospel to all nations after his resurrection, there is also an orthodox tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke of Seventy Apostles. In the Latter Day Saint movement, an apostle is a witness of the name of Jesus Christ who is sent to teach the principles of salvation to others. In many Latter Day Saint churches, an apostle is an office of high authority within the church hierarchy. Today the twelve apostles of the LDS church include Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Anderson, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, there are also members of the quorum of the seventy simply referred to as “seventies”. They typically work under the direction of the apostles and are given similar responsibilities that build up the church. In many churches, apostles may be members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the church, in most Latter Day Saint churches, modern-day apostles are considered to have the same status and authority as the Biblical apostles. In the Latter Day Saint tradition, apostles and prophets are believed to be the foundation of the church, in Islam, an apostle or messenger is a prophet sent by God. According to the Quran, God has sent many prophets to mankind, the five universally acknowledged messengers in Islam are Ibrahim, Mūsa, Dāwūd, Īsā and Muhammad, as each is believed to have been sent with a scripture. Muslim tradition also maintains that Adam received scrolls as did some of the patriarchs of the Generations of Adam
Apostle
–
Paul the Apostle, by
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn
Apostle
–
Gallery of the Apostles, Temmenhausen Nikolauskirche
14.
Poland
–
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
Poland
–
Reconstruction of a
Bronze Age,
Lusatian culture settlement in
Biskupin, c. 700 BC
Poland
–
Flag
Poland
–
Earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish ruler; King
Mieszko II Lambert of Poland being presented with a
Liturgical book by
Matilda of Swabia, 1025–1031
Poland
–
Drawing of the
Battle of Grunwald, which was fought against the
German Order of Teutonic Knights, 15 July 1410
15.
Gemological Institute of America
–
The Gemological Institute of America, or GIA, is a nonprofit institute dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIAs mission is to all buyers and sellers of gemstones by setting and maintaining the standards used to evaluate gemstone quality. The institute does so through research, gem identification and diamond grading services, through its world-renowned library and subject experts, GIA acts as a resource of gem and jewelry information for the trade, the public and worldwide media outlets. In 1953 the GIA developed its International Diamond Grading System and the Four Cs as a standard to compare, today, the institute is headquartered in Carlsbad, California and operates out of 13 countries, with 11 campuses,9 laboratories and 4 research centers worldwide. The story of the GIA starts back in the 1920s with a man named Robert M. Shipley and he therefore took it upon himself to bring change to the jeweler’s trade, and restore the public’s trust therein. After traveling to Europe and completing the Great Britain National Association of Goldsmiths gemological correspondence course and it was here that he launched his own preliminary course in gemology on September 16,1930, seeking to train and certify jewelers. The jewelers he certified would eventually serve to form a guild of jewelers, dedicated to providing the public with a superior sense of professionalism within the gem. The first GIA gemological laboratory was established in Los Angeles in 1931, the jewelers profession was quickly transformed, with the introduction of the Certified Gemologist professional designation and the legitimization of gemology as a recognized science. Over the years, the group has many significant new developments to the industry, including the following,1934. 1937, GIA patents the world’s first gemological microscope, allowing gemologists to properly examine the insides of gemstones,1953, The diamond grading system based on Shipley’s Four C’s becomes an international standard for determining diamond quality. 1955, GIA issues the first diamond grading reports, which are accepted as a benchmark for the jewelry industry. 1956, GIA finds a way to detect diamonds that have been irradiated to artificially enhance their color. 1960, The GIA Diamond Dictionary is published, becoming an international industry reference,1987, The Liddicoat Gemological Library and Information Center amasses the largest collection of books on gemology in the world. 1991, GIA hosts its first annual Career Fair, which becomes the industry’s most significant recruiting event,1999, GIA identifies a way to detect diamonds that have been decolorized by high pressure and high temperatures. 2003, GIA identifies a way to detect sapphires made from beryllium-diffusion techniques,2005, GIA creates a system for grading the cut of round brilliant diamonds in the D-to-Z color range. 2007, GIA introduces a Synthetic Diamond Grading Report,2014, GIA introduces DiamondCheck, which is capable of differentiating between natural and treated or synthetic diamonds. GIA is actively engaged in research to advance the science of gemology, historically, research has focused on developing methods and technologies to accurately identify and characterize gems. This research has produced significant advances in the ability to differentiate gems, GIA was also responsible for the first modern diamond grading reports, where it introduced grading methodologies for diamond color and diamond clarity
Gemological Institute of America
–
Gemological Institute of America (GIA)
16.
Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
Germany
–
The
Nebra sky disk is dated to c. 1600 BC.
Germany
–
Flag
Germany
–
Martin Luther (1483–1546) initiated the
Protestant Reformation.
Germany
–
Foundation of the
German Empire in
Versailles, 1871.
Bismarck is at the center in a white uniform.
17.
Sephardic
–
They established communities throughout Spain and Portugal, where they traditionally resided, evolving what would become their distinctive characteristics and diasporic identity. Spoken by Sephardim in the Eastern Mediterranean, Haketia, an Arabic influenced Judaeo-Spanish variety also derived from Old Spanish, with numerous Hebrew and Aramaic terms. Taken with them in the 15th century after the expulsion from Spain in 1492, Early Modern Spanish and Early Modern Portuguese, including in a mixture of the two. Traditionally spoken or used liturgically by the ex-converso Western Sephardim, taken with them during their later migration out of Iberia in the 16th to 18th centuries as conversos, after which they reverted to Judaism. In most cases these varieties have incorporated loanwords from the languages of the Americas introduced following the Spanish conquest. This article deals with Sephardim within the narrower ethnic definition, the name Sephardi means Spanish or Hispanic, derived from Sepharad, a Biblical location. The location of the biblical Sepharad is disputed, but Sepharad was identified by later Jews as Hispania, that is, Sepharad still means Spain in modern Hebrew. In its most basic form, this broad definition of a Sephardi refers to any Jew, of any ethnic background. The term Sephardi in the sense, thus describes the nusach used by Sephardi Jews in their Siddur. A nusach is defined by a liturgical traditions choice of prayers, order of prayers, text of prayers, Sephardim traditionally pray using Minhag Sefarad. Additionally, Ethiopian Jews, whose branch of practiced Judaism is known as Haymanot, have come under the umbrella of Israels already broad Sephardic Chief Rabbinate. The divisions among Sephardim and their descendants today is largely a result of the consequences of the Royal edicts of expulsion. In the case of the Alhambra Decree of 1492, the purpose was to eliminate their influence on Spains large converso population. Indeed, a number of those Jews who had not yet joined the converso community finally chose to convert. While the stipulations were similar in the Portuguese decree, King Manuel then largely prevented Portugals Jews from leaving, by blocking Portugals ports of exit. This failure to leave Portugal was then reasoned by the king to signify a default acceptance of Catholicism by the Jews, actual physical forced conversions, however, were also experienced throughout Portugal. Sephardi Jews, therefore, encompass Jews descended from those Jews who left the Iberian Peninsula as Jews by the expiration of the respective decreed deadlines. This group is divided between those who fled south to North Africa, as opposed to those who fled eastwards to the Balkans, West Asia
Sephardic
–
Elias Canetti
Sephardic
–
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji
Sephardic
–
Benjamin Disraeli
Sephardic
–
Jacques Derrida
18.
Ramat Gan
–
Ramat Gan is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of Tel Aviv. It is home to one of the major diamond exchanges. Ramat Gan was established in 1921 as a moshava, a farming settlement. The mayor of Ramat Gan is Yisrael Zinger, Ramat Gan was established by the Ir Ganim association in 1921 as a satellite town of Tel Aviv. The first plots of land were purchased between 1914–1918, the settlement was initially a moshava, a Zionist agricultural colony that grew wheat, barley and watermelons. The name of the settlement was changed to Ramat Gan in 1923, the settlement continued to operate as a moshava until 1933, although it achieved local council status in 1926. At this time it had 450 residents, in the 1940s, Ramat Gan became a battleground in the countrys language war, A Yiddish language printing press in Ramat Gan was blown up by Hebrew-language extremists. Over the years, the economy shifted from agriculture to commerce, by 1946, the population had grown to 12,000. In 1950, Ramat Gan was recognized as a city, in 1955, it had a population of 55,000. The first mayor was Avraham Krinitzi who remained in office for 43 years, in 1961, the municipal area of Ramat Gan expanded eastward, to encompass the area that includes the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and Bar Ilan University. In 1968, the worlds largest diamond exchange opened in Ramat Gan, the Sheba Medical Center and the Israel Diamond Exchange are located in Ramat Gan. Ramat Gan is located in the Gush Dan metropolitan area east of Tel Aviv and it is bounded in the north by the Yarkon River and in the east by Bnei Brak. Ramat Gan experiences an average of 500 mm of rainfall per year and is located and it is built on limestone hills. Ramat Gan parks include The National Park which covers some 1,900 dunams, 25% of Ramat Gan is covered by public parkland. According to the 1931 census Ramat Gan had 975 inhabitants, in 253 houses, as of 2006, Ramat Gan had 129,700 residents, on an area of 12,000 dunams. The population was growing at a rate of 1. 0% per annum with 90% of this growth coming through natural increase, the population density of the city is 9,822.6 per square kilometer, one of the highest in Israel. In terms of the origin of Ramat Gans residents,42,900 originate from Europe and America,10,200 from Africa,29,200 from Asia, and 40,600 from Israel. 86,200 of the residents of Ramat Gan were born in Israel, according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, as of 2001, Ramat Gans socioeconomic ranking stood at 8 out of 10
Ramat Gan
–
Ramat Gan skyline, with the
Moshe Aviv Tower and
Diamond Exchange District
Ramat Gan
–
Jewish road construction crew, 1927
Ramat Gan
–
High-rise buildings in Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan
–
Bar-Ilan University
19.
Gregorian calendar
–
The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
–
First page of the papal bull
Inter gravissimas
Gregorian calendar
–
Detail of the pope's tomb by
Camillo Rusconi (completed 1723); Antonio Lilio is genuflecting before the pope, presenting his printed calendar.
20.
Garnet
–
Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, the different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series, pyrope-almandine-spessartine and uvarovite-grossular-andradite, the word garnet comes from the 14th‑century Middle English word gernet, meaning dark red. It is derived from the Latin granatus, from granum, Garnet species are found in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless, with reddish shades most common. Garnet species light transmission properties can range from the gemstone-quality transparent specimens to the varieties used for industrial purposes as abrasives. The minerals luster is categorized as vitreous or resinous, garnets are nesosilicates having the general formula X3Y23. The X site is occupied by divalent cations 2+ and the Y site by trivalent cations 3+ in an octahedral/tetrahedral framework with 4− occupying the tetrahedra. Garnets are most often found in the crystal habit, but are also commonly found in the trapezohedron habit. They crystallize in the system, having three axes that are all of equal length and perpendicular to each other. Garnets do not show cleavage, so when they fracture under stress, because the chemical composition of garnet varies, the atomic bonds in some species are stronger than in others. As a result, this group shows a range of hardness on the Mohs scale of about 6.5 to 7.5. The harder species like almandine are often used for abrasive purposes, for gem identification purposes, a pick-up response to a strong neodymium magnet separates garnet from all other natural transparent gemstones commonly used in the jewelry trade. Almandine, Fe3Al23 Pyrope, Mg3Al23 Spessartine, Mn3Al23 Almandine, sometimes incorrectly called almandite, is the modern gem known as carbuncle, the term carbuncle is derived from the Latin meaning live coal or burning charcoal. The name Almandine is a corruption of Alabanda, a region in Asia Minor where these stones were cut in ancient times, chemically, almandine is an iron-aluminium garnet with the formula Fe3Al23, the deep red transparent stones are often called precious garnet and are used as gemstones. Almandine occurs in metamorphic rocks like mica schists, associated with such as staurolite, kyanite, andalusite. Almandine has nicknames of Oriental garnet, almandine ruby, and carbuncle, Pyrope is red in color and chemically an aluminium silicate with the formula Mg3Al23, though the magnesium can be replaced in part by calcium and ferrous iron. The color of pyrope varies from red to black. A variety of pyrope from Macon County, North Carolina is a shade and has been called rhodolite
Garnet
–
Garnet
Garnet
–
A sample showing the deep red color garnet can exhibit.
Garnet
–
Crystal structure model of garnet
Garnet
–
Almandine in metamorphic rock
21.
Amethyst
–
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος méthystos, the ancient Greeks wore amethyst and made drinking vessels decorated with it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. It is one of forms of quartz. Amethyst is a stone and is the traditional birthstone for February. Amethyst is a variety of quartz and owes its violet color to irradiation, iron impurities, and the presence of trace elements. The hardness of the mineral is the same as quartz, thus it is suitable for use in jewelry, Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple. Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues, red and blue, the best varieties of amethyst can be found in Siberia, Sri Lanka, Brazil and the far East. The ideal grade is called Deep Siberian and has a purple hue of around 75–80%, with 15–20% blue. Green quartz is sometimes called green amethyst, which is a misnomer and not an appropriate name for the material. Other names for green quartz are vermarine or lime citrine, of very variable intensity, the color of amethyst is often laid out in stripes parallel to the final faces of the crystal. One aspect in the art of lapidary involves correctly cutting the stone to place the color in a way makes the tone of the finished gem homogeneous. Often, the fact that only a thin surface layer of violet color is present in the stone or that the color is not homogeneous makes for a difficult cutting. When partially heated, amethyst can result in ametrine, Amethyst can fade in tone if overexposed to light sources and can be artificially darkened with adequate irradiation. Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was employed in antiquity for intaglio engraved gems. Beads of amethyst were found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England, anglican bishops wear an episcopal ring often set with an amethyst, an allusion to the description of the Apostles as not drunk at Pentecost in Acts 2,15. A large geode, or amethyst-grotto, from near Santa Cruz in southern Brazil was presented at a 1902 exhibition in Düsseldorf, in the 19th century, the color of amethyst was attributed to the presence of manganese. However, since it can be altered and even discharged by heat. Ferric thiocyanate has been suggested, and sulfur was said to have detected in the mineral
Amethyst
–
Amethyst cluster from
Magaliesburg, South Africa.
Amethyst
–
Faceted amethyst
Amethyst
–
Emerald cut amethyst
Amethyst
–
Roman
intaglio engraved gem of
Caracalla in amethyst, once in the Treasury of
Sainte-Chapelle.
22.
Zircon
–
Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y, Zircon forms in silicate melts with large proportions of high field strength incompatible elements. For example, hafnium is almost always present in quantities ranging from 1 to 4%, the crystal structure of zircon is tetragonal crystal system. The natural color of zircon varies between colorless, yellow-golden, red, brown, blue, and green, colorless specimens that show gem quality are a popular substitute for diamond and are also known as Matura diamond. The name derives from the Persian zargun meaning gold-hued and this word is corrupted into jargoon, a term applied to light-colored zircons. The English word zircon is derived from Zirkon, which is the German adaptation of this word, yellow, orange and red zircon is also known as hyacinth, from the flower hyacinthus, whose name is of Ancient Greek origin. Zircon is ubiquitous in the crust of Earth and it occurs as a common accessory mineral in igneous rocks, in metamorphic rocks and as detrital grains in sedimentary rocks. Their average size in granite rocks is about 0. 1–0.3 mm, Zircon is also very resistant to heat and corrosion. Because of their uranium and thorium content, some zircons undergo metamictization, connected to internal radiation damage, these processes partially disrupt the crystal structure and partly explain the highly variable properties of zircon. As zircon becomes more and more modified by internal radiation damage, the density decreases, the structure is compromised. Zircon occurs in many colors, including brown, yellow, green, blue, gray. The color of zircons can sometimes be changed by heat treatment, common brown zircons can be transformed into colorless and blue zircons by heating to 800 to 1000 °C. In geological settings, the development of pink, red, and purple zircon occurs after hundreds of millions of years, color in this red or pink series is annealed in geological conditions above the temperature about 350 °C. Zircon is mainly consumed as an opacifier, and has known to be used in the decorative ceramics industry. Zircon is one of the key used by geologists for geochronology. Zircon is a part of the ZTR index to classify highly-weathered sediments, Zircon is a common accessory to trace mineral constituent of most granite and felsic igneous rocks. Due to its hardness, durability and chemical inertness, zircon persists in sedimentary deposits and is a constituent of most sands
Zircon
–
Zircon crystal from
Tocantins,
Brazil (2×2 cm)
Zircon
–
Optical microscope photograph; the length of the crystal is about 250
µm.
Zircon
–
Sand-sized grains of zircon
Zircon
–
Zircon collection at the
National Museum of Natural History
23.
Pearl
–
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as a conulariid. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate. in minute crystalline form, the ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality natural pearls have been valued as gemstones. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, the most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls, cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold. Imitation pearls are widely sold in inexpensive jewelry, but the quality of their iridescence is usually very poor and is easily distinguished from that of genuine pearls. Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry and they have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines and paint formulations. Whether wild or cultured, gem-quality pearls are almost always nacreous and iridescent, however, almost all species of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls of lesser shine or less spherical shape. The English word pearl comes from the French perle, originally from the Latin perna meaning leg, nacreous pearls, the best-known and most commercially significant, are primarily produced by two groups of molluskan bivalves or clams. A nacreous pearl is made from layers of nacre, by the same living process as is used in the secretion of the mother of pearl which lines the shell, natural pearls, formed without human intervention, are very rare. Cultured pearls are formed in pearl farms, using human intervention as well as natural processes, saltwater pearls can grow in several species of marine pearl oysters in the family Pteriidae. Freshwater pearls grow within certain species of mussels in the order Unionida. The unique luster of pearls depends upon the reflection, refraction, the thinner and more numerous the layers in the pearl, the finer the luster. The iridescence that pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, in addition, pearls can be dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black. The very best pearls have a metallic mirror-like luster, because pearls are made primarily of calcium carbonate, they can be dissolved in vinegar. Calcium carbonate is susceptible to even a weak acid solution because the crystals of calcium carbonate react with the acid in the vinegar to form calcium acetate. Freshwater and saltwater pearls may sometimes look quite similar, but they come from different sources, Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China
Pearl
–
Various pearls
Pearl
–
A pearl being extracted from an akoya pearl oyster.
Pearl
–
A black pearl and a shell of the black-lipped pearl oyster. The
iridescent colors originate from
nacre layers.
Pearl
–
Electron microscopy image of a fractured surface of nacre
24.
Moonstone (gemstone)
–
Moonstone is a sodium potassium aluminium silicate, with the chemical formula AlSi3O8. Its name is derived from an effect, or sheen. Moonstone has been used in jewelry for centuries, including ancient civilizations, the Romans admired moonstone, as they believed it was born from solidified rays of the moon. Both the Romans and Greeks associated Moonstone with their lunar deities, in more recent history, the moonstone became popular during the Art Nouveau period, French goldsmith René Lalique and many others created a large quantity of jewelry using this stone. The most common moonstone is of the mineral adularia, named for a mining site near Mt. Adular in Switzerland. The plagioclase feldspar oligoclase also produces moonstone specimens, Moonstone is feldspar with a pearly and opalescent schiller. Moonstone is composed of two species, orthoclase and albite. Then, as the newly formed mineral cools, the intergrowth of orthoclase and albite separates into stacked, when light falls between these thin, flat layers, it scatters in many directions producing the phenomenon called adularescence. Deposits of moonstone occur in Armenia, Australia, the Austrian Alps, Mexico, Madagascar, Myanmar, Norway, Poland, India, Sri Lanka and the United States. The moonstone is currently the Florida State Gemstone, it was designated as such to commemorate the Moon landings, despite it being the Florida State Gemstone, it does not naturally occur in the state
Moonstone (gemstone)
–
Moonstone
Moonstone (gemstone)
–
Polished moonstone
cabochon
25.
Heliotrope (mineral)
–
The mineral aggregate heliotrope, also known as bloodstone, is a variety of jasper or chalcedony. The classic bloodstone is green jasper with red inclusions of hematite, the red inclusions are supposed to resemble spots of blood, hence the name bloodstone. The name heliotrope derives from ancient notions about the manner in which the mineral reflects light. These are described, e. g. by Pliny the Elder, heliotrope was called stone of Babylon by Albert the Great and he referred to several magical properties, which were attributed to it from Late Antiquity. Pliny the Elder mentioned first that the magicians used it as a stone of invisibility, damigeron wrote about its property to make rain, solar eclipse and its special virtue in divination and preserving health and youth. Heliotrope features as an invisibility stone in one of Boccaccios stories in the Decameron, heliotrope is sometimes used in carved signet rings and is the traditional birthstone for March. The primary source of the stone is India and it is also found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Australia, and the United States. There is also an outcrop of bloodstone on the Isle of Rum, media related to Heliotrop at Wikimedia Commons
Heliotrope (mineral)
–
A heliotrope, also known as a bloodstone.
26.
Jasper
–
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color, and rarely blue. The common red color is due to iron inclusions, the mineral aggregate breaks with a smooth surface and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be polished and is used for vases, seals. The specific gravity of jasper is typically 2.5 to 2.9, along with heliotrope, jasper is one of the traditional birthstones for March. Jaspilite is a banded iron formation rock that often has bands of jasper. The name means spotted or speckled stone, and is derived via Old French jaspre and Latin iaspidem ) from Greek ἴασπις iaspis, green jasper was used to make bow drills in Mehrgarh between 4th and 5th millennium BC. Jasper is known to have been a gem in the ancient world, its name can be traced back in Arabic, Azerbaijani, Persian, Hebrew, Assyrian, Greek. On Minoan Crete, jasper was carved to produce seals circa 1800 BC, although the term jasper is now restricted to opaque quartz, the ancient iaspis was a stone of considerable translucency including nephrite. The jasper of antiquity was in many cases distinctly green, for it is compared to the emerald. Jasper is referred to in the Nibelungenlied as being clear and green, the jasper of the ancients probably included stones which would now be classed as chalcedony, and the emerald-like jasper may have been akin to the modern chrysoprase. The Hebrew word yushphah may have designated a green jasper, flinders Petrie suggested that the odem, the first stone on the High Priests breastplate, was a red jasper, whilst tarshish, the tenth stone, may have been a yellow jasper. Jasper is a rock of virtually any color stemming from the mineral content of the original sediments or ash. Patterns arise during the process forming flow and depositional patterns in the original silica rich sediment or volcanic ash. Hydrothermal circulation is thought to be required in the formation of jasper. Jasper can be modified by the diffusion of minerals along discontinuities providing the appearance of vegetative growth, the original materials are often fractured and/or distorted, after deposition, into diverse patterns, which are later filled in with other colorful minerals. Weathering, with time, will create intensely colored superficial rinds, the classification and naming of jasper varieties presents a challenge. A few are designated by the place of such as a brown Egyptian or red African. Picture jaspers exhibit combinations of patterns resulting in what appear to be scenes or images, diffusion from a center produces a distinctive orbicular appearance, i. e. leopard skin jasper, or linear banding from a fracture as seen in leisegang jasper
Jasper
–
Jasper outcrop,
Bucegi Mountains,
Romania
Jasper
–
Moveable ring from 664 to 322 BC (Late Period). Green jasper and gold. The
Walters Art Museum
Jasper
–
Goat-headed basket carved from red jasper. Russian, late 19th century,
Kremlin Armoury
Jasper
27.
Beryl
–
Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be3Al26. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine, naturally occurring, hexagonal crystals of beryl can be up to several meters in size, but terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is tinted by impurities, possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red. The name beryl is derived from Greek βήρυλλος beryllos which referred to a precious blue-green color-of-sea-water stone, akin to Prakrit verulia, the term was later adopted for the mineral beryl more exclusively. When the first eyeglasses were constructed in 13th century Italy, the lenses were made of beryl as glass could not be clear enough. Consequently glasses were named Brillen in German, beryl of various colors is found most commonly in granitic pegmatites, but also occurs in mica schists in the Ural Mountains, and limestone in Colombia. Beryl is often associated with tin and tungsten ore bodies, beryl is found in Europe in Norway, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Russia, as well as Brazil, Colombia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, South Africa, the United States, and Zambia. US beryl locations are in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. As of 1999, the worlds largest known naturally occurring crystal of any mineral is a crystal of beryl from Malakialina, Madagascar,18 m long and 3.5 m in diameter, aquamarine is a blue or cyan variety of beryl. It occurs at most localities which yield ordinary beryl, the gem-gravel placer deposits of Sri Lanka contain aquamarine. Clear yellow beryl, such as occurring in Brazil, is sometimes called aquamarine chrysolite. The deep blue version of aquamarine is called maxixe, maxixe is commonly found in the country of Madagascar. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, the pale blue color of aquamarine is attributed to Fe2+. Fe3+ ions produce golden-yellow color, and when both Fe2+ and Fe3+ are present, the color is a darker blue as in maxixe, decoloration of maxixe by light or heat thus may be due to the charge transfer between Fe3+ and Fe2+. Dark-blue maxixe color can be produced in green, pink or yellow beryl by irradiating it with high-energy particles, in the United States, aquamarines can be found at the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range in central Colorado. In Wyoming, aquamarine has been discovered in the Big Horn Mountains, another location within the United States is the Sawtooth Range near Stanley, Idaho, although the minerals are within a wilderness area which prevents collecting. In Brazil, there are mines in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Bahia, the mines of Colombia, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya also produce aquamarine. The largest aquamarine of gemstone quality ever mined was found in Marambaia, Minas Gerais, Brazil and it weighed over 110 kg, and its dimensions were 48.5 cm long and 42 cm in diameter
Beryl
–
Three varieties of beryl: morganite, aquamarine and heliodor
Beryl
–
Aquamarine
Beryl
–
Faceted aquamarine, 13.24ct, Brazil
Beryl
–
Faceted emerald, 1.07ct, Colombia
28.
Diamond
–
Diamond is a metastable allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at standard conditions. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material and those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells. Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be contaminated by very few types of impurities, such as boron, small amounts of defects or impurities color diamond blue, yellow, brown, green, purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical dispersion, most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers in the Earths mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. Diamonds are brought close to the Earths surface through deep volcanic eruptions by magma, Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a HPHT method which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earths mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth technique is chemical vapor deposition, several non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants, resemble diamond in appearance and many properties. Special gemological techniques have developed to distinguish natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds. The word is from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas unbreakable, the name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek αδάμας, proper, unalterable, unbreakable, untamed, from ἀ-, un- + δαμάω, I overpower, I tame. Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3,000 years, Diamonds have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India. Their usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history, later in 1797, the English chemist Smithson Tennant repeated and expanded that experiment. By demonstrating that burning diamond and graphite releases the same amount of gas, the most familiar uses of diamonds today are as gemstones used for adornment, a use which dates back into antiquity, and as industrial abrasives for cutting hard materials. The dispersion of light into spectral colors is the primary gemological characteristic of gem diamonds. In the 20th century, experts in gemology developed methods of grading diamonds, four characteristics, known informally as the four Cs, are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds, these are carat, cut, color, and clarity. A large, flawless diamond is known as a paragon and these conditions are met in two places on Earth, in the lithospheric mantle below relatively stable continental plates, and at the site of a meteorite strike. The conditions for diamond formation to happen in the mantle occur at considerable depth corresponding to the requirements of temperature and pressure
Diamond
–
The slightly misshapen octahedral shape of this rough diamond crystal in matrix is typical of the mineral. Its lustrous faces also indicate that this crystal is from a primary deposit.
Diamond
–
One face of an uncut octahedral diamond, showing trigons (of positive and negative relief) formed by natural chemical etching
Diamond
–
Schematic diagram of a volcanic pipe
Diamond
–
Diamond and graphite are two
allotropes of carbon: pure forms of the same element that differ in structure.
29.
Sapphire
–
Sapphire is a gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide. It is typically blue in color, but natural fancy sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, the only color which sapphire cannot be is red - as red colored corundum is called ruby, another corundum variety. This variety in color is due to amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry and they also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary, a sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years. Sapphire is one of the two gem-varieties of corundum, the other being ruby, although blue is the best-known sapphire color, they occur in other colors, including gray and black, and they can be colorless. A a pinkish orange variety of sapphire is called padparadscha, significant sapphire deposits are found in Eastern Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Madagascar, East Africa, and in North America in a few locations, mostly in Montana. Sapphire and rubies are often found in the geological setting. Every sapphire mine produces a range of quality - and origin is not a guarantee of quality. For sapphire, Kashmir receives the highest premium although Burma, Sri Lanka, the cost of natural sapphires varies depending on their color, clarity, size, cut, and overall quality. For gems of exceptional quality, an independent determination from a respected laboratory such as the GIA, gemstone color can be described in terms of hue, saturation, and tone. Hue is commonly understood as the color of the gemstone, saturation refers to the vividness or brightness of the hue, and tone is the lightness to darkness of the hue. Blue sapphire exists in various mixtures of its primary and secondary hues, various tonal levels, blue sapphires are evaluated based upon the purity of their primary hue. Purple, violet, and green are the most common secondary hues found in blue sapphires, violet and purple can contribute to the overall beauty of the color, while green is considered to be distinctly negative. Blue sapphires with up to 15% violet or purple are generally said to be of fine quality, gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in blue sapphires. Gray reduces the saturation or brightness of the hue, and therefore has a negative effect. The 423-carat Logan sapphire in the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, sapphires in colors other than blue are called fancy or parti colored sapphires. Fancy sapphires are found in yellow, orange, green sapphires, brown, purple
Sapphire
–
The 423-carat (85 g) blue
Logan Sapphire
Sapphire
–
An uncut, rough yellow sapphire found at the Spokane Sapphire Mine near Helena, Montana
Sapphire
–
Pear-shaped blue sapphire
Sapphire
–
Dark blue sapphire, probably of Australian origin, showing the brilliant surface luster typical of faceted corundum gemstones.
30.
Rock crystal
–
Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earths continental crust, behind feldspar. There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones, since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings, especially in Eurasia. The word quartz is derived from the German word Quarz and its Middle High German ancestor twarc, the Ancient Greeks referred to quartz as κρύσταλλος derived from the Ancient Greek κρύος meaning icy cold, because some philosophers apparently believed the mineral to be a form of supercooled ice. Today, the rock crystal is sometimes used as an alternative name for the purest form of quartz. Quartz belongs to the crystal system. The ideal crystal shape is a six-sided prism terminating with six-sided pyramids at each end, well-formed crystals typically form in a bed that has unconstrained growth into a void, usually the crystals are attached at the other end to a matrix and only one termination pyramid is present. However, doubly terminated crystals do occur where they develop freely without attachment, a quartz geode is such a situation where the void is approximately spherical in shape, lined with a bed of crystals pointing inward. α-quartz crystallizes in the crystal system, space group P3121 and P3221 respectively. β-quartz belongs to the system, space group P6222 and P6422. These space groups are truly chiral, both α-quartz and β-quartz are examples of chiral crystal structures composed of achiral building blocks. The transformation between α- and β-quartz only involves a comparatively minor rotation of the tetrahedra with respect to one another, although many of the varietal names historically arose from the color of the mineral, current scientific naming schemes refer primarily to the microstructure of the mineral. Color is an identifier for the cryptocrystalline minerals, although it is a primary identifier for the macrocrystalline varieties. Pure quartz, traditionally called rock crystal or clear quartz, is colorless and transparent or translucent, common colored varieties include citrine, rose quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, milky quartz, and others. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of macrocrystalline and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties, the cryptocrystalline varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque, while the transparent varieties tend to be macrocrystalline. Chalcedony is a form of silica consisting of fine intergrowths of both quartz, and its monoclinic polymorph moganite. Other opaque gemstone varieties of quartz, or mixed rocks including quartz, often including contrasting bands or patterns of color, are agate, carnelian or sard, onyx, heliotrope, amethyst is a form of quartz that ranges from a bright to dark or dull purple color. The worlds largest deposits of amethysts can be found in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Russia, France, Namibia, sometimes amethyst and citrine are found growing in the same crystal. It is then referred to as ametrine, an amethyst is formed when there is iron in the area where it was formed
Rock crystal
–
Quartz
crystal cluster from
Tibet
Rock crystal
–
Clear rock crystals on a white base
Rock crystal
–
Amethyst crystals on matrix
Rock crystal
–
Citrine from Brazil
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