This one needs to go on the bucket list. St. Issac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia.⠀ 😍⠀ The iconostasis is framed by eight columns of semiprecious stone: six of malachite and two smaller ones of lazurite.⠀ ⠀ Imagine how hard it would be to create this!!

Repost from @gemologygeek Gemacation: Trapiche Emerald . It’s the perfect day for a hardcore GemGeekOut!!! . If you've seen one in real life you won't be able to forget it. By ’one’ I mean a total GemGeekOut!... What did you think I was talking about, this gemcrazyness of a gemstone above?!?! . Gems and I go hand in hand. We are one and the same. . Trapiche Emerald is an amazing geological wonder. They are so rare that only a handful of miners and suppliers have had the ability to say they have one or have had one. Many times these stones are bought by collectors or museums because of their rarity and value. . Trapiche Emeralds were first documented as a discovery in Colombia around 1879. . What makes these gems so unique is the black multi-ray spoke pattern radiating from the center of the rough outwards like a wheel. This pattern is only visible if the stone is sliced and cut into a cabochon. The black ray pattern that is seen is the cause of black carbon impurities being present during formation. Since Emeralds have a hexagonal crystal structure the hypothesis for why a 6 spot pattern shows is that these impurities fill in at the crystal junction. . As of today, there are no known lab-grown, simulated or synthetic Trapiche Emeralds. Also, note most Emeralds are treated to enhance clarity and durability. Some of the processes they use include oiling, polymer filling, and glass injection. What one must understand is if a natural stone is treated it's still considered a natural stone. But treatment must be disclosed. . Photo Credit & Content: Erica @gemologygeek (DM for all stone inquiries and sourcing. I’ll find what others can’t.) . #Emerald #gemology #gemmologist #gemgeek #gemstone #beautiful #Gemologygeek #Emeraldlove #TrapicheEmerald #Rockhound #gemologist #treasure #instagood #jewelryADD  #finejewelry #amazingnature #insta #Gem #textural #minerals #fineminerals #discovery #gemmology #geometry #nature #raregems #naturalwonders #gemcollector #highjewelry

Playing with some amazing colors today

😍 sorting through some old stock White Opal from Coober Pedy. The antique shop near me was closing down and he had this gorgeous little pile of Opals so I just had to snag them up

@linajakaite latest graphic is another amazing view on how gemstones and minerals are related. I can't get enough of these images.

7cts Of Pink Tourmaline to start the day

** NEW Gemstones Just Landed **⠀ Check out these beautiful Tourmalines just listed on the site.⠀ They wont last long!

THE CHALLENGE: Using the wisdom of the crowd, guess how many Sapphires are in this parcel.⠀ ⠀ THE RESULTS: From 55 guesses, the average was 266.18 Sapphires.⠀ The actual number of Sapphires in the parcel is 266!⠀ ⠀ Amazing!

On special days like Mother's Day my wife likes to wear this beautiful Opal necklace. It belonged to my Grandmother and she choose my wife to have it. Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there ❤❤

💎💎 Lets have some fun, but I need your help 💎💎⠀ I have been reading about the "Wisdom of the crowd" experiment where people guess the quantity or weight of something and the average of everyone's answer is pretty close to the actual answer.⠀ Think about guessing the number of Jelly beans in a jar. The average of everyones guess is usually within 5% of the actual answer. ⠀ Pretty amazing right!⠀ ⠀ With that in mind, lets do an experiment of our own. Below is a picture of some Australian Sapphires. I want you to guess how many Sapphires are in this pile.⠀ ➡️ There is an Australian 10 cent piece and a US 5 cent piece for scale.⠀ ➡️ The pile weighs 110.686cts⠀ ➡️ The average size of the Sapphires is about 7mm⠀ ⠀ For this to work we are going to need lots of guesses. So can you please post the quantity below and tag some friends to guess as well.⠀ ⠀ Lets see if this actually works!⠀ ⠀ To make it even more fun, if anyone guesses the actual quantity, i'll give them a $50 voucher to use on @sedagems