Rock crystal: Pixabay Homer praised rock crystal in the Odyssey and Iliad - a transparent crystal that looks like pieces of ice. The diamonds in Queen Mary of Modena's crown were once replaced with these sparkling crystals. Taoist Feng Shui practice recommends keeping at least one such pebble in your home. What are the benefits and beauty of this stone?
Description and history of the stone
The shape of the crystal is its main distinguishing feature. The Herkimer Diamond is a prism with a hexagonal pyramid at both ends. But inside it you can see rainbow curtains shimmering with light or inclusions of crystals.
The number of edges depends on the size and location of the mine. The size of Herkimer stones ranges from up to one and a half centimeters.
The opinions of scientists about the origin of Herkimer are divided into two parts, from which two theories arise:
- The geographical hypothesis is the most common; it is that, thanks to erosion processes that occurred during the Ice Age, crystals of the future “diamond” fell into the limestone sedimentary deposits of dolomite. The Adirondack mountain range, where these processes took place, was formed about 500 million years ago, which is consistent with the theory. Thus, the only difference from a real diamond were gas inclusions inside the stone and inclusions of liquid barely visible to the eye.
- There is a biological hypothesis that the building material for the Herkimer diamond was the simplest microorganisms – radiolarians. These are single-celled organisms that once inhabited the seas. Their skeleton contains silicon dioxide, a substance also found in rock crystal.
See what the stone looks like in the video:
Rock crystal in magic, astrology and healing
Writer Oscar Wilde wrote in his book “The Remarkable Rocket” that only those who have known true love can drink from a crystal cup. Anything else will cause the stone to fade, becoming gray and cloudy. The stone truly has many amazing properties.
Treatment with rock crystal
Thanks to its energy, the crystal helps in curing many physical and mental ailments - this is what legends and beliefs about rock crystal say. Here is its healing power:
- Improves brain activity.
- Increases sensitivity to new information and improves memory.
- Relieves stress and tension during difficult periods in life.
- A good health and restorative product.
- Pointed crystals are used for acupressure.
- The light that passes through the stone is able to heal wounds.
- The crystal helps relieve heat at high temperatures.
Properties and uses of Herkimer
The Herkimer diamond has no less powerful energetic impact on the human soul than its precious counterpart. Thanks to its advantages, Herkimer can be useful in many areas of human life.
Physical properties
The Herkmeyer Diamond is just quartz, but due to its brilliance and jewel-like clarity, it can easily be mistaken for a gemstone. Most often, the crystal is transparent in color; less commonly, rocks with a yellowish or brownish tint are found. It may contain inside various inclusions of gas or liquid, other impurities, curtains that shimmer with a rainbow.
From the properties of Herkimer diamond:
- Chemical formula: SiO2.
- Transparency: transparent, has rainbow curtains, inclusions.
- Gloss: glassy with a pearlescent sheen.
- Color: colorless. There are brownish and yellowish shades.
- Density: 2.64 grams per cubic centimeter.
- Fracture: conchoidal.
- Hardness: 7 on the Mohs scale.
The video shows examples of stone:
Healing properties of the stone
Herkimer diamonds, being with their owner, adjust his biorhythms to improve his health. They bring a person’s state to harmony, restore mental strength, and fill them with calm.
The stone is used in alternative medicine. It is used for preventive purposes by lithotherapists. They practice treatment methods related to the influence of rocks on the human body and psyche. Doctors resort to using the Herkmeier diamond to protect against heart disease, rehabilitate the brain and spinal cord, and improve the functioning of blood vessels.
Jewelry made from Herkimer diamonds serves as a preventive modulator against many diseases. For example, a necklace will protect the heart and thyroid gland. The bracelets will prevent the formation of blood clots in the blood vessels of the hands. Earrings will help cope with insomnia and mild mental disorders.
Carrying Herkimer diamonds with you at all times will help you look younger due to the positive effects on your skin.
Magic properties
Rock crystal talismans bring good luck, longevity, and protect against misfortunes. In addition, the stone has a beneficial effect on human thoughts. According to believers, its action is similar to confession. He frees his head from bad thoughts.
The Herkimer Diamond is a symbol of fidelity and purity. The bearer of the amulet will always remain faithful to his soulmate. The energy of the stone has a positive effect on the relationship between two people who love each other, averting adversity and quarrels.
Having an amulet of Herkimer diamonds with him, a person is able to achieve goals in a short time without losing calm and self-control. You will never fall into the hands of scammers thanks to the magical properties of the talisman.
Cut
Diamond cutting, or as it is also called, polishing, is done only with another diamond. This is possible due to the fact that the hardness of diamond is different in different directions. Therefore, before proceeding to this procedure, careful calculations are made. Diamond powder or chips are also used for these purposes.
On a horizontally rotating steel wheel, on the surface of which there is diamond powder and oil, the diamond edges are polished. In this case, the rotation speed of the circle is 2-3 thousand revolutions per minute.
Despite the wide variety of tools, an experienced cutter controls the position of the edges and the direction of the corners manually using a magnifying glass. There are certain mechanical machines for processing small stones, but they are rarely used.
When cutting diamonds, a very large amount of material is lost. On average, this figure can even reach 50-60%. When processing the legendary Cullinan diamond, it was about 65%. When polishing a diamond, diamond powder is additionally formed, which is also collected and used further.
Polishing - the grinding wheel has an additional strip on which very fine diamond chips (practically dust) are applied, which are used to further polish the diamond. This is done in order to remove all irregularities and traces of polishing the stone.
Cost of stones
The Herkimer diamond itself is not of high value, because in fact it is just quartz. Stone can be bought in the range from 500 to 700 rubles. But depending on the frame and the version of the jewelry with a crystal, the price correspondingly increases by 8–10 times.
Herkimer crystals are unique, they carry the energy of nature. Herkimer will give you health and youth for many years. With proper care, it will delight you with beauty and brilliance, not inferior to precious stones.
Would you buy yourself a Herkimer Diamond? Don't forget to share information with others about this interesting crystal.
Benefits of opal tableware
Large selection and versatility.
Set the table with elegant plates every day or use them only for holiday dinners. The assortment of salad bowls, lunch, dessert and substitution plates is huge. Each housewife will choose a set to suit her taste - plain snow-white or romantic with a delicate floral pattern.
Hygiene.
Opal tableware is designed for daily use, and therefore has increased strength, practicality, and durability. The difference between opal glass plates is the absence of pores, so they are easy to clean from food debris. Dirt does not get stuck in the material, ensuring complete hygiene and safety for human health. This is especially important for young children with weak immunity.
Heat resistance.
Opal products are not afraid of “temperature shock”; they can withstand high heat and strong cooling. Place the dishes in the refrigerator and then wash with hot water, there will be no cracks.
Impact resistance.
An ordinary plate breaks with the first blow, but an opal plate is not so easily destroyed. Of course, such salad bowls break, but not as easily as ordinary glass.
Suitable for storing food.
Thanks to their non-porous structure, bowls can be used to store leftover first and second courses, as well as fresh food.
Health safety.
The glass is tempered at high temperatures, after which it gets rid of hazardous substances. The result is a material that does not release toxic substances when heated and does not react to the action of oxidizing agents. Plates with cups are easily painted with harmless paints that do not contain toxic metals. All this makes tableware ideal for young children.
Tea pair: cup 250 ml, saucer 15 cm, opal glass, MILLIMI “Bianco”
164.24 R
Dinnerware set 13 pieces, opal glass, MILLIMI “Inessa”
1513.07 R
Salad bowl d. 19 cm, opal glass, MILLIMI “Apollo 2”
104.91 R
MILLIMI Aneta Dinnerware set 13 ave., opal glass, square shape, 19019
2032.35 R
Salad bowl d. 15 cm, opal glass, MILLIMI “Ariadne”
89.14 R
MILLIMI Rio Salad bowl opal glass 15cm, 16194A
123.37 R
MILLIMI Rio Dessert plate opal glass 21.5cm, 16194A
143.83 R
Dinnerware set 19 items, opal glass, MILLIMI “Tais”
2166.18 R
Imitation of stones using glass and plastic
Colored glasses were used instead of precious gems back in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome, 3 millennium BC. In the 19th century, with the discovery of the technology for making rhinestones (more about rhinestones in the article on synthetic stones), it became possible to create glass imitations very similar to their precious counterparts. Colorless rhinestones were used to imitate diamonds. By adding dyes (copper oxides, cobalt oxides, etc.) to the mixture, excellent analogues of emeralds, sapphires and other precious and semi-precious stones began to be obtained. A special advantage of rhinestones over ordinary glass was their increased strength, which made it possible to make almost any type of cut.
Various types of glass are used for imitations: bottle glass, window glass, optical crown glass (lime-alkali glass), lead strass glass, aventurine glass (an alloy with metal shavings).
Glasses have different degrees of transparency, which also contributed to their use to imitate different types of stones. For example, completely opaque glass is called smalt , which is sometimes used to make especially elegant and inexpensive jewelry that imitates ornamental stones. The strength and physical properties of glasses depend on their composition, for example, on the lead content. To imitate opaque natural stones (turquoise, carnelian, christoprase and others), in addition to glass, colored plastic .
How to distinguish counterfeit gemstones from glass and plastic counterparts?
Both glass and plastic cannot be considered “full-fledged” ways to imitate a gemstone - an experienced jeweler can easily distinguish a fake. Plastic jewelry is too light in weight compared to stone. When you tap the plastic on a hard surface (some prefer to tap on your own tooth), a characteristic “empty” sound is heard, which cannot be confused with stone or glass. Glass “stones,” unlike natural ones, usually feel a little warm to the touch due to the low thermal conductivity of glass. Just compare to natural stone, which most often stays cool.
Ways to imitate natural stones
Here is a far from complete list of ways in which you can “counterfeit” a gemstone:
- Artificial glass and rhinestones - colored and colorless
- Colored plastic, ceramic mass
- Composite materials - doublets and triplets (glued layers of thin strips of glass and natural stone)
- Reconstructed materials (products of sintering small pieces of natural materials)
- Cheap natural stones that imitate more expensive ones ( blue apatite
as
aquamarine, zircon or quartz as diamond) - Synthetic stones that have no natural analogues and imitate precious ones (example: cubic zirconia)
In which countries are diamonds mined?
There are a large number of diamond mining sites on Earth. Now humanity does not experience a shortage of this stone, and mining is carried out in several countries. However, due to the complexity of processing, it remains expensive.
Currently, the leaders in diamond mining are:
- Namibia – 1.3%;
- South Africa – 6.2%;
- Angola – 7%;
- Zimbabwe – 8%;
- Canada - 8.1%;
- Australia – 9%;
- Democratic Republic of the Congo – 10%;
- Botswana - 18%;
- Russia – 29%.
World diamond production
Thus, the Russian Federation is the leader in diamond production in the world, since it accounts for a large share of deposits. In other countries not included in the list, only 3.4% of the total is mined.
Diamonds are mined from kimberlite pipes - places on the planet where they are deposited. The rocks are formed deep underground, after which they gradually rise to the top and come out along with the lava.
