History of Gem Collecting: Early Gemstone Explorers

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Gemstones History and subjects of interest

History of Gem Collecting: Early Gemstone Explorers

Did any of us need much encouragement to begin our jewel collection? Some of us devote a great deal of time completing our collection, driven by the passion for finding the next great stone. Just one more and it will be complete, right? No it won't, there will always be one more; or good heaven...let's just start another collection altogether. Oh, why not?

We may collect by species, type, color, you name it. There's no limit to the ways in which we decide how to assemble a wonderful collection of gemstones. Some people I know collect gems by the region of the world. An "all Asian" collection may have Peridot, jade, serpentine, pearl, coral, lapis lazuli, and the like. But how in the world did all this get started?

Let's go back to Marco Polo's travels in the 13th century. He wasn't just looking for spaghetti--or fire crackers, although those Chinese trophies made for interesting dining and entertainment. He brought back jewels, as did Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great. Jewels, and plenty of them, filled their treasure troves in pre-souvenir-store days when world travelers brought home all things exotic from distant lands.

Since ancient times, traders went in search of rare gems to satisfy the appetites of the wealthy aristocrats of Europe. Men were bejeweled up to their crowns in those days. And what an appetite they had for "bling," putting to shame the modern hip-hop star who adorns him/herself with oversized neckwear featuring their names spelled out in diamonds.

To meet this extravagant taste, adventurous explorers set out for parts unknown in search of exotic jewels to grace the robes of royalty. In so doing, they graced their own lives with super-star status in their day.

The Portuguese, and later the Italians, set out across Europe, through Russia, into Persia, and finally to India in search of the largest and finest jewels mined in Golconda, India--the world's first diamond site.

Enter Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. In the 17th century, Tavernier set himself apart as a prince of a jewel trader. He undertook six voyages, which took him as far as the East Indies and Java. He was an intelligent man, speaking all the known languages of Europe at the time. Known for his honesty and good character, he was embraced by the people in the Orient. It was there that he amassed a fortune in the trade of precious stones. Later portraits of him reveal a robust elder statesman in full Oriental garb, complete with a splendid turban, wide pantaloons, and curly-toed slippers.

Ennobled in 1669 by French King Louis XIV, he took the title Baron d'Aubonne after an estate he bought near Geneva. It is said that he died on a seventh journey, which was to take him to Asia by way of Russia. His book Six Voyages en Turquie, en Perse et aux Indes, beloved by gem historians, contains a wealth of information and has been frequently reprinted in several languages.

Romantic stories say that Tavernier stole a blue stone from the eye of a Hindu god statue and, because of that theft, the stone--a blue diamond--was forever cursed. Tavernier was then bilked out of his fortune by a nephew and mauled to death by a pack of wild dogs in India.

Naahh, I don't think so--good story though. The diamond in question made its first documented appearance in 1642 when Tavernier purchased a blue diamond that weighed more than 112 carats and was believed to come from Golconda. Tavernier was not cheated out of his fortune, and he lived to the ripe old age of 84. While there remains no documentation of how he died, I imagine he was quite the raconteur back at the castle in his final days.

This most famous 17th century gem merchant, Tavernier used the phrase "gem of the finest water" in describing the finest diamonds and pearls he saw on his six voyages to India. Although Tavernier is long since gone, his impact on the way we communicate gemstones remains. Even now in the 21st century, one can pick up a copy of GIA's Dictionary of Gems & Gemology and find in it that gemologist Robert M. Shipley defines "water" as a term occasionally used "as a comparative quality designation for color and transparency of diamonds, rubies and other stones." Color and transparency together equal "water."

Ah yes, Tavernier had a gift for acquiring and describing gems. And we owe him and his colleagues a great debt of gratitude for introducing

 Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the bittersweet story of am-etrine begins. According to legend, the Spanish explorer Don Luis Felipe received the world's only Am-etrine mine as a dowry when he came to Bolivia to marry Princess Anahi of the Ayoreos tribe. Later, when Felipe was ready to return to Spain, Princess Anahi was sad to leave her homeland but determined to remain by her husband's side and vowed to follow him anywhere.

When the Ayoreos tribesmen learned of her plans to leave them, they plotted to sacrifice Princess Anahi. As the wounded princess lay dying in her beloved husband's arms, legend has it that she placed her final gift to him in his hand and took her last breath. When Felipe opened his hand, he found a perfectly divided bi-color Am-trine, a symbol of his princess's divided heart--full of love for him as well as for her heritage.

Darlene Sabella

Princess Anahi was buried at the base of the mountain where the am-etrine mine is located, to be forever near her people. The mine then became known as the Anahi mine. Other stories maintain that Princess Anahi first warned her beloved of the tribe's plans to battle him for her affections, gifted him with the Am-trine crystal she'd always worn around her neck, and then disappeared into the Am-etrine caves, never to be seen again. Am-etrine remained relatively unknown to the rest of the world until the mine went into modern production in the late 1970s. Today, the Anahi mine in Bolivia remains the only mine in the world to produce good-quality am-etrine.  Half Amethyst and half Citron....

August's birthstone, Peridot is a relatively inexpensive, beautiful gem with a pedigree dating back as far as early Egyptians. Among its accolades, Peridot can count being a favorite among royals and clergy, used to adorn everything from a queen's crown to a knight's sword. Peridot jewels were among Cleopatra's beloved treasures, though many were found to be emeralds once the science of gemology advanced beyond classifying gemstones in ways other than just by color.

Name Origin and Meaning

The name "Peridot" is likely derived from the Arabic word faridat, meaning "gem," or the Greek word peridona, which roughly translates as "to give richness." Peridot has three other names: It's known as chrysolite in Europe, derived from the Greek word meaning "gold stone"; olivine, which is its mineral group name; and Hawaiite, which refers only to Peridot found in Hawaii. Ancient Romans called Peridot the "evening emerald" because it continued glowing vibrantly at night, even in dim candlelight.

Discovery and History

The discovery of Peridot, like many mainstream gemstones, was likely thousands of years ago. More recent discoveries--at least those since such records were kept--include a deposit found on a small volcanic island in the Red Sea near the Egyptian coast. Those deposits were rediscovered around 1900 and were soon mined out.

Darlene Sabella

Peridot had an uneventful history after that until, in the mid 1990s, a very plentiful, high-quality new Peridot deposit was found in the mountains of Pakistan. Peridot once again became a darling of the gem community when those stones--some of the finest ever discovered--hit the market as Kashmir Peridot.

Peridot can exhibit two-phase liquid and gas inclusions called lily pads, named such because that's exactly what they look like. Peridot’s unique lily pads are just another example of inclusions that can be attractive and positive, rather than having a negative effect on a stone's appearance or value.

Phenomena: Star and Cat's-Eye

In very rare cases, Peridot can display asterism (a star) or chatoyancy (the cat's-eye effect).