Gemstones

Guess the gemstone

• Diamond

• Ruby

• Emerald

• Blood Diamond

Answer explanation

Diamond is a solid form of pure carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal. Solid carbon comes in different forms known as allotropes depending on the type of chemical bond. The two most common allotropes of pure carbon are diamond and graphite.

Mohs scale hardness: 10 (defining mineral)

Guess the gemstone

• Jade

• Moonstone

• Amber

• Sunstone

Answer explanation

Amber is a hard, transparent, yellowish-brown substance that was formed in ancient times from resin.

Guess the gemstone inside the ring

• Opal

• Amethyst

• Pearl

• Lapis lazuli

Answer explanation

Amethyst is a transparent purple gemstone. It is a variety of quartz whose color can range from pale lilac to a deep purple with red or blue undertones. Amethyst is considered a semiprecious gem, which is a label assigned to some gemstones that have a lesser value than those considered precious.

Guess the gemstone and type it

(a)  

Answer explanation

It comes from the Greek ónyx, meaning “nail,” “claw,” or “veined gem.” Onyx is a variety of the mineral chalcedony, a kind of quartz. The gemstone known as sardonyx is another variety of chalcedony that's reddish-brown with white layers.

Guess the gemstone

• Pyrite

• Tanzanite

• Quartz

• Zircon

Answer explanation

Zircon is a common mineral whose colorless, transparent variety is used as a gemstone. Zircon is most often opaque and can be reddish-brown, gray, green, or blue (the color of blue varieties is produced through heat treatment). Reddish-orange zircon is called hyacinth.

Guess the gemstone

• Quartz

• Tiger's eye

• Tourmaline

• Larimar

Answer explanation

Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO₂.

Guess the gemstone and type it

(a)  

Answer explanation

Ametrine, also known as trystine or by its trade name as bolivianite, is a naturally occurring variety of quartz. It is a mixture of amethyst and citrine with zones of purple and yellow or orange. Almost all commercially available ametrine is mined in Bolivia.

Guess the gemstone and type it

(a)  

Answer explanation

Spinel is the name for a kind of mineral and a variety of the mineral that's used as a gemstone, especially a red-colored one. The word can be used to refer to a gemstone, as in I want a ring with a spinel, or the mineral material, This is made of spinel. It's sometimes spelled as spinelle or spinell.

Guess the gemstone and type it

(a)  

Answer explanation

Amazonite, also known as Amazonstone, is a green tectosilicate mineral, a variety of the potassium feldspar called microcline. Its chemical formula is KAlSi₃O₈, which is polymorphic to orthoclase.