Gemstone
Jewellery, objects and artworks set with precious and semi-precious stones, valued for colour, brilliance and rarity.
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About
A gemstone is a mineral, or occasionally an organic material such as pearl or amber, chosen for beauty, durability and rarity. For most of history stones were polished into smooth, domed cabochons or carved; faceting, which grinds flat planes so a stone sparkles, developed gradually from the 14th century, and the modern round brilliant cut for diamonds was refined in the early 20th century.
Rulers and churches long used gems to display power and sanctity, from jewelled Byzantine book covers to the Mughal court, where emeralds were carved with inscriptions and flowers. Later jewellers made the setting as important as the stone. Cartier, founded in Paris in 1847, pioneered delicate platinum mounts around 1900, and Van Cleef & Arpels patented its 'mystery setting', which hides the metal behind rows of stones, in 1933. Look for cut, colour, clarity and how the mount admits light.
