The Naming of Precious Stones

OWING to the confusion which may result from a lack of uniformity in the naming of precious stones, it is very desirable that jewelers and stone merchants inform themselves in regard to the correct use of the names of the gems, and that they use care in speaking and in writing such names.

As nearly all precious and semi-precious stones are derived from a relatively small number of mineral species, as we saw in Lesson XVIII., and as the science of mineralogy has a very orderly and systematic method of naming the minerals, the best results are had in the naming of gems when we use, as far as is possible, the language of mineralogy.

Ancient Usage. Long established custom and usage, however, must be observed, for any system of naming must be generally understood in order to be useful. Thus the proper name for blood red, crystallized oxide of aluminum, of gem quality, according to the mineralogical system of naming, would be red corundum, but that same material is referred to in the Old Testament thus (in speaking of wisdom), "She is more precious than rubies." It is obviously necessary to keep and to use all such terms as have been for years established in usage, even though they do not agree with the scientific method of naming the particular mineral. It is, however, necessary that any name, thus retained, should be correctly used, and that it should not be applied to more than one material. Thus the term ruby should be reserved exclusively for red corundum, and not applied to other red minerals such as garnet, spinel, etc., as is too often done.