gem junkie – Gem Junkies

Seduce him with those big Pearls, girl

Welcome Gem Junkies!

Have you listened to this week’s podcast?

We left off with the world as our Oysters, and came right back to that Oyster to uncover the wonderful world of Pearls.

This imagery follows our first part of this two part series. Check out the links below the images to learn more!

An interpretation of Cleopatra seducing Marc Antony by slipping her Pearl earring into a cup of “Vinegar” before drinking it. Pearl was thought of as an aphrodisiac, and this is how our girl Cleopatra shoots her shot to protect her empire from being overthrown.

This image was taken from http://www.grantsjewelry.com/the-real-story-about-cleopatras-banquet-and-that-pearl/ website, but was originally created Jacob Jordaens in 1653, and appropriately named “The Banquet of Cleopatra”

A breakdown of the anatomy of an Oyster. Here you can see where the bead will be implanted for cultured Pearl formation.

Here you can see how the bead is surgically implanted into the Oysters for nucleation.

The Oysters are then placed on lines, or in nets while the Pearl is being formed. This process varies for the different species, and is monitored by the Oyster farmers.

The moment of truth for this Tahitian Pearl- a black Pearl emerges from the Gonads of an Oyster.

A non exhaustive list of Pearl shapes- not all Pearls are created round!

Photo courtesy of http://www.russellandballard.com/knowledge-builder/pearls/

One of our Freshwater Cultured Pearl ring designs

Shop our Pearl Jewelry

July 20November 2

Perido or Peridon’t

Hey Junkies, here for your weekly dose? Well we have something that’s subtle, yet special. You probably know by now we mean Peridot! Lets go on a little journey to a time long, long ago, and to a place far, far away from Idaho.

1st Stop:

Zagarbad, the mysterious, “disappearing” island where Peridot can be found.

Photo courtesy of

Next we visit a time in history where there was enough space in the world to “cast away” our enemies, and literally never hear from them again, (I mean could you imagine?!)

Pharaoh casting away all of the snakes

Next we take you on a ‘wild’ color wheel ride where you can see this particular type of gem is limited in color variation. Everyone has a crazy green lady in their family, right?

Photo courtesy of https://ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ancient-snake-deities-gods-ancient-mythology-006282

Color range of Peridot

This next one is for Brecken, who insisted i include the lily pads, and well, they are pretty.

Photo courtesy of https://jewelry-secrets.com/Blog/peridot-gemstone-august-birthstone/

Brecken’s fav Lily Pad inclusions.

Photo courtesy of http://theonlinejeweller.org/lily-pad-inclusions-peridot/

This is what they mean by “nodules”- pockets per say where you can find smaller amounts of Peridot all nestled up.

You can find Peridot in small amounts in the nodules of Basalt rocks

Photo courtesy of https://hiveminer.com/Tags/olivine%2Cperidot

Alright, this is pretty metal. Looks like something they would right ANOTHER super hero movie about. Can we ever get enough super hero movies? (yes)

Jonathan’s fav peridot in a meteorite

Photo courtesy of https://reddit.com/r/woahdude/comments/1u676k/pallasite_metorites_contain_olivine_also_known_as/

Last stop but not least, Parle’s vault where I found a more than worthy piece of Peridot jewelry to photograph. They really are beautiful.

June 29November 2

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, Off to Mine Tourmaline We Go.

Welcome fellow Gem Junkie!

This week we discussed Tourmaline, and as we have said before this is a complicated and beautiful gemstone that comes in every color, and sometimes more than one! Have a look.

Like we said, everything but the kitchen sink. Photo courtesy of http://navneetgems.com/tourmaline-wholesale-multi-pink-green-indicolite/

The most commonly found Tourmaline- Schorl- ‘Skroll’- photo courtesy of https://www.crystalclassics.co.uk/product/schorl-tourmaline-with-albite-and-quartz/

Watermelon Tourmaline- Don’t forget the rind! Photo courtesy of https://auction.catawiki.com/kavels/14965741-beautiful-polished-watermelon-tourmaline-slices-14-25-ct-3

The coveted Paraiba Tourmaline- Photo Courtesy of https://www.gemselect.com/other-info/paraiba-tourmaline-info.php

As promised, the Namibian Tourmaline Jonathan picked up.

A Parle one-of-a-kind Bi-color Green Tourmaline piece.

Shop our Tourmaline Jewelry

June 1November 2

All Hail The King

Rubies- Every one knows them, but only the fierce don this power gemstone. Are you one of the few?

Find our cover photo https://www.instagram.com/thirdcoastgems/

The Corundum Family

How did you react when you found out Sapphires and Rubies are siblings?

So where is Ruby found?

While not perfectly drawn, (I am no historian or geographer) this does touch many of the locations that we know of today as the Ruby Sources. See for yourself below!

Including the Inclusions

I won’t take any of his pictures off the website, but if you want to see some cool shots of inclusions on Rubies, and other gemstones you should check out https://www.instagram.com/microworldofgems/?hl=en

Rubies & their sources

East African Ruby