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Traditionally, gemstones (those used for jewelry) have been divided into precious and semi-precious categories. Gems were deemed "precious" largely based on a history of ecclesiastical, devotional or ceremonial use, as well as rarity. The four "cardinal" precious gems are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald.
Semi-precious stones are pretty much everything else.There are more than 130 species of minerals that have been cut into gems, with 50 species in common use. Strictly speaking, such gems as pearls, coral, ivory, jet, amber and mother of pearl are not "stone" at all, but are considered semi-precious for purposes of jewelry making.
Gold is a remarkable, precious metal, with an unparalleled combination of chemical and physical properties. The only yellow metal, its name comes from the Old English word for yellow, 'geolu'. As the only metal that forms no oxide film on its surface in air at normal temperatures means that it will never rust or tarnish.
One of the three noble metals, gold in its pure form is a yellow metallic element. This soft metal performs best when alloyed with other metals to make it stronger. To produce rose gold, gold is alloyed with copper to create a warm pink hue.
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