What’s the difference between crystals and gems?
You probably have never put any thought in it but what makes a stone a gemstone and how does a gemstone differentiates from a crystal? Let me say you this is not an exact science and there is no clear answer to this question. There is no clear answer because the definition about what a gemstone is is very open. What makes a stone a gemstone hasn’t anything to do with the properties of the material. This is what wikipedia says about gemstones:
A gemstone or gem (also called a precious or semi-precious stone, or jewel) is a piece of attractive mineral, which when cut and polished is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However certain rocks, (such as lapis lazuli) and organic materials (such as amber or jet) are not minerals, but are still used for jewelry, and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are used in jewelry because of their lustre or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone.
In essence each stone that is worth collecting or to use as jewelry or art by its color, luster, shape or rarity is a gem. Previously there was a distinction between precious and semi-precious gems. Precious stones such as diamond, aquamarine, ruby, emerald and sapphire are harder than semi-precious stones. Semi-precious gems such as amethyst, tiger eye and quartz were considerd to fragile to be used in jewelry, but nowadays this distinction is not made anymore. A gemstone can be a crystal but this is not a requirement.
A crystal is a mineral with a crystalline form. The atoms or molecules are arranged in a regular geometric pattern. A crystal may or may not be a gemstone. A salt crystal for example is not a gemstone because it’s not rare and not durable.
The one thing to remember from this all is that there is no real difference between crystals and gems. A gemstone is just a piece of rock that’s valuable for people because of it’s prettiness.
Related posts: