gem indentification

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had a passionate love affair which continued through two separate marriages. They fell in love during the filming of “Cleopatra” in 1960. They were recognized not only for their astonishing acting skills and their multiple marriages but for the diamond named after them, the Taylor Burton diamond weighing 69.42 carats. The original diamond rough was found at the Premier Mine in South Africa, also known...

Lapis Lazuli is a rock, not a mineral colored by lazurite. It comes in varying shades of blue speckled with white calcite, yellow pyrite often thought of as gold, or other material. Look for the best Lapis Lazuli to be an even color of blue and free of little white speckling or veining from other elements. Lapis Lazuli with its deep blue azure color was a favorite stone of the...

The Koh-I-Noor diamond is one of the most famous diamonds known dating back 5000 years before the time of Christ. Koh-I-Noor means “Mountain of Light”. The first mention of the stone that I could find was in 1296 when Ala-ed-Din defeated King Gujrat at which time he acquired many treasures. The Koh-I-Noor diamond was believed to be one of them. Two centuries later, Barbur meaning “lion” invaded India and was...

The Great Star of Africa diamond was mined in Pretoria, Africa at the Premier Mine in June 25, 1905. This diamond is also known as the Cullinan I diamond named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the owner of the mine. The Great Star of Africa, the largest diamond ever found until 1985, was found by Frederick Wells, the manager of the Premier Mine. He was given a finder’s fee of $10,000....