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Glittering Stones Glossary A

Adamantine:

The term used to portray a gemstone with a brilliant shine like that of a diamond.

 

Agate:

A form of chalcedony that forms from layers of quartz generally showing varicolored bands. It regularly occurs as rounded nodules or veins. The composition of agate varies greatly, but silica is forever predominant, typically with alumina and oxide of iron.

 

Alexandrite:

Alexandrite is a type of chrysoberyl. Named after Czar Alexander II, it is a color alters stone that is green in daylight and light red in artificial light.

 

Amber:

Amber is a fossilized resin since pine trees. Amber deposits have been found that are over 160 million years old, but most amber used in jewelry or ornamentals is 30-90 million years old.

 

Amethyst:

Amethyst is the purple kind of quartz. Although it should always be purple to be amethyst, it could and does have a wide range of purple shades plus purple, lilac and mauve.

 

Aquamarine:

The aquamarine is an associate of the beryl family and ranges in color from a pale approximately colorless blue to blue-green to pure blue. Some of these stones are fiery to improve their color and change a light colored stone to pure blue.