If you use natural gemstones in your designs, you have probably wondered where they come from. You likely know that they are mined from the earth in various parts of the world, but you may not be familiar with how they form, the factors that determine what types of gems form in what areas or how they go from rough stones mined from the dirt to the beautiful beads that you use in your designs.
Whether you use precious gemstones–such as diamonds or sapphires–or semi-precious beads–like amethyst, topaz or quartz–there are certain similarities in where they come from. Keep reading to learn a bit more about where gemstones come from.
How Natural Gemstones Form
Entire books have been written on how natural gemstones form. Countless people have made understanding the process their life’s work. The full explanation of how gemstones form is not something that would fit in a single blog post, so for the purposes of this article, we are only outlining the basic process.
Most types of gemstones form within the Earth’s crust, which lies about three to 25 miles below the planet’s surface. Two stones–peridot and diamond–form much deeper, though.
There are three specific types of rock: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed when molten magma cools and crystalizes beneath the surface of the earth. This type of rock can also form on the surface of the earth as a result of volcanic activity. Sometimes, crystals grow within igneous rock and form gemstones. The types of gems that can be found in igneous rock include quartz, moonstone, tourmaline, topaz, diamond, garnet and many others.
Sedimentary rock forms from fragments of other worn-down stones that are transported by wind or water and are, eventually, compressed together. Gemstones that occur in this type of rock include malachite, jasper, zircon and opal.
Lastly, metamorphic rock forms when intense pressure or heat changes existing rocks. Gemstones that form in this type of rock include sapphire, emerald, jade, turquoise, ruby, sapphire and aquamarine.
The exact type of gemstone that forms in a particular area depends on what minerals and elements are present, the temperature, the environment, etc.
How Gems Are Found and Mined
Mining diamonds is an industrialized process that uses a lot of heavy machinery. Most diamonds come from open-pit mines and finding and extracting the gems is now a relatively straightforward process. Finding other types of gemstones tends to be much more difficult, though.
Mining for colored gemstones is a time-consuming–and often physically demanding–process. This is especially true for precious gems. Pockets of these stones are small and scarce so miners spend a lot of time trying to locate them. While deposits of semi-precious gems are often larger, discovering them and extracting the stones from the earth can still be a challenging task. Often, discovered deposits turn out to be too small to be profitable for major mining companies. These huge corporations leave small deposits to smaller independent mining companies that lack the equipment and technology that the larger companies use. They rely on manual mining techniques that are physically demanding and incredibly time-consuming in order to extract crystals from the Earth.
What Happens Next?
After rough gemstones have been extracted from the earth, they are processed and sorted before being sent off to be used in various applications. Some are cut and polished into gemstones, some are tumbled, some are sold as rough specimens… You get the idea. And, of course, some are fashioned into gemstone beads.
The exact process for making gemstone beads varies. Generally, though, it begins with thoroughly cleaning the gems to remove any remaining dirt and debris. The stones are often sanded and polished using gradually finer grades of an abrasive until the desired shape or style is reached. Sometimes, beads are faceted. More often, though, they are cut into small spheres, chips or other shapes and then drilled so that they can be strung. Gemstone beads are also commonly tumbled to give them a nice polish.
From the Earth to Your Hands
Precious and semi-precious gemstone beads are made from gems that form deep within the Earth in various parts of the world. They come in a rainbow of colors and nearly every shape and size imaginable. At Beads of Cambay, we are proud to bring the beauty of natural gemstones from the Earth directly to your hands. Check out our selection today to find beads to add to your collection.
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