Fely's Jewelry and Pawnshop

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was created by the German mineralogist, Friedrich Mohs in 1822 to measure the relative hardness or scratch resistance of various minerals. He based it on ten readily available minerals. Since it is an ordinal scale, two minerals must be compared in order to decide which is harder. Almost everyone buying gemstones […]

Today, there are over 130 different varieties of precious and semi-precious gemstones available. Many of the different gemstone types belong to a larger common family or umbrella group of related gems. Gemstones from GemSelect In many cases, gemstone groups are based on physical properties, such as water content or optical phenomena, for example, cat’s eye gemstones, rutilated

There are different ways of organizing the world’s gemstones. The science of mineralogy sorts the various minerals into ten different mineral classes, based on their chemical composition. The classes include basic elements, sulfides, halides, oxides and hydroxides, carbonates and nitrates, phosphates, silicates, and organic substances. Within these classes are species. Each species has a well-defined chemical

Over the centuries, various cultures have contributed to the legend and lore surrounding gemstones. These rare products of nature have inspired philosophers and mystics to attribute unusual powers to these special minerals. Ruby – For Good Luck and Good Health The best compendium of gemstone lore is undoubtedly that found in George Frederick Kunz’s book The Curious Lore of Precious Stones,

In 2016, August joined June and December as one of the three birth months represented by three gems. The original birthstone for August was Sardonyx, and then peridot was added, becoming August’s primary gem. The addition of spinel, which can be found in a variety of colors, gives August babies a plethora of options! Learn