Exotic Gemstones, Featuring Apatite Posted on 25 Oct 11:41
Like the name implies, exotic gemstones are somewhat rare and naturally brightly colored. Unlike the big 3 colored gemstones, Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald (which are often heat treated to bring out color vibrancy), they are not so well known and the exotic gemstones are very rarely treated.
I'd like to introduce you to one of my transparent to semi-transparent favorites and tell you a little about it.. Because "exotics" are sometimes very hard to source I buy them when I am able and have created some pieces for you here in my shop, pzmdesigns.com
In this blog post, I will be featuring Apatite. Apatite, is a naturally occurring gemstone whose colors range from light blue and violet, to intense violet-blue, to blue, and yellowish green to green..... with all the color variations in between. The most highly prized color mimics the Paraiba blue tourmaline and is usually called neon blue.
Apatite can range from transparent to opaque. They are sourced mainly in Myanmar, Brazil, India and East Africa, among a few other places. They are a softer stone with the hardness of 5 on the Mohs hardness scale. That is why, in jewelry, apatite is better suited to necklaces or earrings. I have included some examples of the color variations in these translucent beaded necklaces.
https://pzmdesigns.com/collections/gemstone-necklaces/products/apatite-double-strand-necklace-blue-apatite-and-silver-necklace
https://pzmdesigns.com/collections/gemstone-necklaces/products/neon-blue-apatite-necklace-gift-for-her
The necklace above shows the different transparency qualities that can occur in apatite.
Next is an example of the neon blue apatite!!!
https://pzmdesigns.com/collections/gemstone-earrings/products/neon-apatite-tassel-earrings-with-blue-pearl-accents-art-deco-style-fine-jewelry
Stay tuned for another blog post about exotic gemstones. There are so many and they are all exquisite in their own way. Some of the stones I will cover are the transparent to semi translucent: Kyanite, Iolite, Prehnite, and Fluorite. I have already spoken about Peridot, Garnet, and the Quartz family.
There are also many opaque exotic gemstones that are just as beautiful. Such as Amazonite, and the pink beauties, Rhodochrosite and Rhodonite, and I will be writing all about these stones too.
Please visit my shop, pzmdesigns.com to take a peek at some modern tribal gemstone jewelry designs.