The Formation Processes Behind Various Gemstones

By Author: Jennifer wise
Total Articles: 9
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Gemstones are certain rare minerals that are considered precious because of their beauty. They have made significant impacts on our culture and history, and are even used in weddings and engagements. By physical structure, all gemstones are categorized as crystals. These crystals are formed under conditions of intense heat and pressure and some even take millions of years to form. And even though we have been able to form diamonds in labs, they aren’t the same as crystalized remains of 65-million-year-old plants and dinosaurs. If you are interested in learning about how gemstones are formed, read on below. This information will help you spot real from fake the next time you see a sign saying “gemstones for sale”.

The Processes of Gemstone Formation include:

1. Igneous Formation
Many gemstones such as diamond and peridot are formed in the Mantle (the layer of the Earth below the Crust). These are formed under the extreme heat and pressure of being in the magma, between 55 to 150 miles below the Earth’s surface. This magma violently speeds ...
... up to the surface and erupts which causes the gems to get fractures. Over time, these fractures begin to heal a little, but the cavities are left behind like scars or fingerprints. This can be used to tell fake from real since fake diamonds wouldn’t have to erupt with enough force to get them fractured.

2. Biological Formation
Biological formation is rare and is mostly just seen in one non-mineral gemstone – pearl. When sand particles enter the shell of an oyster, they cause pain to the organism inside which begins to release fluids to ease the pain. These fluids react and layer over the sand particles and cause the formation of a pearl. Real pearls are hard enough to break your teeth if you try chewing them, and you can use this information to judge a fake pearl from a real one when you see wholesale beads in the market.

3. Sedimentary Formation
Sedimentary formation isn’t much existing but it occurs when water bodies keep depositing sediments of minerals layer-by-layer in the same spot for thousands of years. This usually gives us gemstones such as opal. A good way to tell real opal from a fake one is to check if you can see layers. The pressure of the water deposits is so high that any sign of the presence of layers fades away. Only fake opal shows layers.

Now, you know how various gemstones are made and how to tell if they are genuine.