珠宝专业英语

Lesson1WhatIsAMineral

BecausetheMajorityofgemstonesaretraditionallyminerals,theirhistoryis

intimatelyandinextricablyassociatedwiththehistoryofminerals.Earlyman

undoubtedlydiscoveredbyaccidentthatquartzandflintcouldbebrokentoproduce

sharpcuttingedgesthatcouldbeusedastoolsorweapons.Itwasthroughtheuseof

mineralsthatbebeganhislongjourneytocivilization.

Sincemostgemmaterialsareminerals,itisimportantatthebeginningofastudy

ofgemologytounderstandthetermmineral.Itisimpossibletogiveabriefdefinition

thatisacceptabletoallmineralogists.Yetwithminorqualificationsmostofthem

agreewiththefollowing:

Amineralisanaturallyoccurring,crystallizedchemicalelementorcompound

havingeitheradefinitechemicalcompositionorrangeincompositionandusually

formedasaproductofinorganicprocesses.

Letusconsidereachofthepartsofthisdefinitionandpointouttheexceptionsor

qualifications.

Naturallyoccurringimpliesthatmineralsareproductsofnature.However,many

compoundsthatarefoundasmineralshavebeenpurposelysynthesizedbymanand

haveessentiallyidenticalproperties.Strictlythesearenotmineralsbutmaybe

consideredsyntheticmineralstodistinguishthemfromnaturalproducts.

Acrystallizedchemicalelementorcompoundimpliesthatmineralsaresolids

composedofatomsorionsarrangedinaregularthree-dimensionalpattern.Such

solidshavecompositionsexpressiblebychemicalformulas.Somemineralshave

definitecompositions;forexample,quartz(rockcrystal,citrine,andamethyst)is

silicondioxide,SiC)2,andcorundum(rubyandsapphire)isaluminumoxide,AI2O3.

Othershavearangeincompositioninwhichatomsofoneelementsubstitutefor

atomsofanotherelementinthecrystalstructure.Forexample,themineralgroup

olivinehasasone-memberpuremagnesiumsilicate,MgzSQ；butironusually

substitutesforsomemagnesiumasinthegemvarietyperidot,andtheformulais

written(Mg,Fe)2SiC)4.

Therestrictionthatmineralsbecrystallineexcludesliquidsandnoncrystalline

solids,althoughtheyarelikemineralsinchemistryandoccurrence.Inarigorous

classificationsuchsubstancesarecalledmineraloids.Althoughopalisessentially

noncrystallineandthusfallsinthisgroup,itistreatedinthetextasamineral.

Thereareafewnaturalnoncrystallinesolidscalledmetamictmineralsthatare

classedasmineraloids.Whenoriginallyformed,thesewerecrystalline,butthecrystal

structurehasbeendestroyedbyradiationfromradioactiveelements.Theonly

importantmetamictmineralusedasagemisonetypeofzircon.

Usuallyformedasaproductofinorganicprocessesimpliesthatsubstances

formedunderbiogenicprocessesarenormallyexcluded.Afewnaturalsubstancescan

originatethroughbothorganicandinorganicagencieswiththetwotypeshaving

identicalproperties.Suchorganicallyproducedmaterialsarehereconsideredminerals.

Thetwomostimportantgemmaterialscontainingamineralhavingthisdualorigin

arepearlandmother-of-pearl.

Vocabulary

mineral矿物crystallize结晶

majority大多数，大半composition成分

gemstone宝石inorganic无机的

traditionally传统地imply含有…的意思；暗示

intimately密切地synthesize合成

inextricably分不开地atom原子

byaccident偶然ion离子

quartz石英three-dimensionalpattern三度（维）模型

flint燧石rockcrystal水晶

gemology石英钟citrine黄晶

mineralogist矿物学家amethyst紫晶

qualification保留；资格silicon(Si)硅

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dioxide二氧化物crystalline晶质（体）

corundum冈lj玉rigorous严格的，严密的

ruby红宝石classification分类

sapphire蓝宝石mineraloid似矿物

aluminum(Al)铝metamict蜕晶质

oxide氧化物noncrystalline非晶质

crystalstructure晶体结构radiation辐射

olivine橄榄石radioactiveelement放射性元素

magnesium(Mg)镁zircon错石

silicate硅酸盐biogenic生物的

variety品种；异种；亚种organic有机的

peridot橄榄石agency作用力，营力

restriction限制，限定dual双重的

exclude排除pearl珍珠

ReadingMaterial1GemMinerals

Becauseamineralmusthavecertainqualificationstobeplacedinthespecial

categoryofgemminerals,thenumberislimited.Ofmorethan3000knownmineral

species,approximately70meettherequirementsandoftheseabout15canbe

consideredasimportantgemminerals.

Intheabovelist(seeTable1-1)thesemineralsarearrangedbychemicalgroups,

theorderinwhichtheyaredescribedonmineralogy,withthenameofthemore

importantgemmineralsinboldfacetype.However,itshouldbepointedout,thatthe

listisnotall-inclusiveandthatotherrarermineralsoccasionallyappearasgemstones.

Thegemologistisfrequentlycalledupontoidentifythemineralsfromwhich

ornamentalobjectshavebeencarved.Therefore,includedinTable1-1(GemMinerals)

aresomemorecommonlyusedforcarvingsthanforcutstones.

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Table1-1GemMinerals

Nativeelements1Diamond

Sulfides2Sphalerite,Pyrite

Corundum,Hematite,Rutile,Quartz,Anatase,Cassiterite,Spinel,

Oxides9

Chrysoberyl,Opal

Halides1Fluorite

Carbonates6Calcite,Rhodochrosite,Smithsonite,Aragonite,Malachite,Azurite

Sulfates1Gypsum

Tungstates1Scheelite

Beryllonite,Apatite,Amblygonite,Brazilianite,Turquoise,

Phosphates6

Variscite

Phenacite,Willemite,Olivine,Garnet,Zircon,EuclaseAndalusite,

Sillimanite,Kyanite,Topaz,Staurolite,Dalolite,Titanite,Benitoite,

Zoisite,Epidote,Vesuvianite,Axinite,Beryl,Cordierite,

Silicates39Tourmaline,Diopside,Enstatite-hypersthene,Jadeite(jade),

Spodumene,Rhodonite,Tremolite-aclinolite(nephrite-jade),

Serpentine,Talc,Prehnite,Chrysocolla,Dioptase,Feldspar,

Danburite,Sodalite,Lazurite,Petalite,Scapolite,Thomsonite

Total66

Vocabulary

category种类sphalerite闪锌矿

species种,物种pyrite黄铁矿

approximately大约，大致hematite赤铁矿

boldfacetype粗体字，黑体字rutile金红石

gemologist宝石学家anatase锐钛矿

ornamental装饰的cassiterite锡石

carve雕刻，切割spinel尖晶石

carving雕刻品chrysoberyl金绿宝石

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opal欧泊，蛋白石zoisite黝帘石

fluorite萤石epidote绿帘石

calcite方解石vesuvianite符山石

rhodochrosite菱镁矿azinite斧石

smithsonite菱锌矿beryl绿柱石

aragonite文石（霰石）cordierite堇青石

malachite孔雀石tourmaline电气石，碧玺

azurite蓝铜矿enstatite-hypersthene顽火辉石一紫苏辉石

gypsum石膏diopside透辉石

scheelite白鸽矿jadeite硬玉，翡翠

beryllonite磷钠被石jade玉

apatite磷灰石spodumene锂辉石

amblygonite磷铝锂石rhodonite蔷薇辉石

brazillianite磷铝钠石tremolite透闪石

turquoise绿松石actinolite阳起石

variscite磷铝石nephrite软玉

phenacite硅被石serpentine蛇纹石

willemite硅锌矿talc滑石

garnet石榴石，紫牙乌prehnite葡萄石

euclase蓝柱石chrysocolla硅孔雀石

andalusite红柱石dioptase透视石

silimanite矽线石feldspar长石

kyanite蓝晶石danburite赛黄晶

topaz黄玉，托帕石sodalite方钠石

staurolite十字石lazurite青金石

datolite硅硼钙石petalite透锂长石

titanite楣石scapolite方柱石

benitoite蓝锥矿thomsonite杆沸石

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Lesson2GemQualifications

Thetermgem(orgemstone)isappliedtothesematerials,usuallyaftertheyare

cutandpolished,thataresufficientlyattractiveanddurabletobeusedforpersonal

adornment.

Oftheseveralattributesofgemstones,beautyisthemostimportant.Thatbeauty

isintheeyeofthebeholderisastruewithgemsaswithmanyotherthings.Toone,

beautymaybeinthecolor;toothers,itmaybeintheluster,transparency,or

brilliancyandthefireresultingfromskillfulcuttingbythelapidary.Thebeautyof

mostgemsresultsfromacombinationoftwoormoreoftheseproperties,butinsome

nontransparentstones,suchasturquoiseandmalachite,itliesincoloralone.Allthe

factorscontributingtobeautyarefoundinafewgemstonessuchasfancycolored

diamondsanddemantoidgarnet.Opal,oneofthemostbeautifulgems,owesits

attractivenesstoflashesofspectralcolorsdiffractedfromthestone'sinterior,a

phenomenonknownasplayofcolor.

Becausemostgemstonesareusedforpersonaladornment,theyshouldbeableto

resistscratchingandabrasionwhichwoulddulltheirlusterandmartheirbeauty.Thus

durability,whichdependsonhardness,toughnessandstability,isthesecondrequisite

ofagemmineral.Itisgenerallyconsideredthatagemstonehardenoughtoresist

abrasionshouldhaveaminimumhardnessof7,thatofquartz.Only10or12gems

satisfythisrequirement,butothersfashionedfromsoftermineralswillretaintheir

lusterformanyyearsifwornwithcare.Thehighhardnessofdiamond,ruby,sapphire

andemeraldisamajorfactorinplacingthemamongthemostprizedofgems.

However,somehardmineralsarebrittleandcanbechippedorfracturedifstrucka

sharpblow,whereasothermineralsoflesshardnessmaybethoughandresist

fracturing.Thelattercaseisparticularlytrueofnephritejade,whichiscomposedofa

feltedaggregateoffibrouscrystals.Theblowthatwouldshatteradiamondwould

havelittleeffectonthefarsofternephritejade.

Stabilityisagemstonesabilitytoresistlossofcolorduetoheat,light,or

chemicalattack.Whileitisafactortoconsider,italonerarelypreventsamineral

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frombeingusedasagemstone.

Beautyanddurabilityarethetwoinherentpropertiesofamineralonwhichits

useasagemdepends.Comparedtotheseproperties,otherqualificationsarerelatively

superficialanddependmostlyonthewhimsofman.Sinceitishumannaturetodesire

somethingrare,rarityisanothercriterionofagemsvalue.Ifthereisonlyalimited

quantityofagemmineralreachingthemarket,thepriceishigh,andbecauseofthis,

thegemisconsidereddesirablebythefewwhocanaffordit.Withthediscoveryof

newsources,resultinginagreatincreaseinsupply,thepricefalls.Itlosesitsappeal

tothefewwhoformerlycouldaffordit.

Thedesirabilityofgemsisalsosubjecttothevagariesoffashion.Forexample,a

darkredvarietyofgarnet-pyropewasextremelypopularduringthenineteenth

centuryandisseeninmanypiecesofjewelrydatingfromthattime,butisinlittle

demandtoday.

Afinalfactorthatcanbeaddedtothedesirablepropertiesofgemsisportability.

Thisisparticularlyappealingforpeoplelivinginpoliticallyunstablecountriesfrom

whichtheymaybeforcedtofleeonshortnotice.Gemstonesareuniqueincombining

highvaluewithsmallvolumeandweightandcanbetransportedeasilyfromone

countrytoanotherduringperiodsofpoliticalunrestandeconomicinstability.Itis

interestingtonoteinthisregardthatevenmanyoftheleastexpensivegemmaterials

are,byweight,morecostlythangold.

Althoughquiteunrelatedtotheintrinsicpropertiesofagem,rarity,fashion,and

portabilityplayalargepartindeterminingitsvalue.

Vocabulary

sufficiently足够地beholder观看者

attractive有吸引力的luster光泽

durable耐久的transparency透明度

adornment装饰brilliancy光亮，光彩

attribute特质，属性skillful巧妙的，精巧的

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cutting琢磨lapidary宝石工，玉工

lie在于aggregate集合体

demantoid翠榴石shatter打碎

attractiveness有吸引力inherent固有的，本来的

flash闪光superficial浅薄的

interior内部whim好奇

spectralcolors光谱色彩rarity稀罕，珍奇

diffract分解afford能买得起

phenomenon现象appeal引起…共鸣，投合…心意

playofcolor变彩desirability合意性

scratching刻划vagary变幻，幻想

abrasion擦磨，刮削fashion潮流，风气

durability耐久性pryope镁铝榴石

hardness硬度jewelry珠宝饰物，首饰

toughness韧性portability轻便

stability稳定性flee消失，消散

requisite要素，必需品unique唯一的

fashioned制作unrest不安定

emerald祖母绿instability不稳定

brittle脆的intrinsic(al)内在的，本质的

chip破碎determine确定，鉴定

blow打击

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ReadingMaterial2ClassificationofGems

Thesystemusedbygemologiststoclassifygemstonesisbasedonafewgeneral

categories.Anunderstandingofthesecangoalongway,therefore,tounderstanding

thedescriptivenamesusedforgems,whethertheyarenaturalorman-made,organic

orinorganic.

Thebasiccategoryisthegemspecies.Themajorityofgemspeciesareminerals,

thatisdefinedbyadefinitechemicalcompositionandusuallyacharacteristiccrystal

structure.Corundumandberylaretwosuchmineralspeciesthatarealsogemspecies.

Inaddition,thereareanumberoforganicgemmaterialsthatarealsoconsideredgem

speciesalthoughtheywouldnotbeincludedassuchinastrictmineralogical

classification.Amongtheseorganicgemspeciesarepearl,coral,shell,amber,jet,and

ivory.

Gemologicalspeciesarebrokendownintovarieties.Thesearesubdivisionsof

speciesbasedincolor,colordistribution,transparency,andopticalphenomena.The

followingexamplesmayhelptoclarifythisconcept:Corundumisagemspecies,the

gemmineralcomposedofaluminumoxidecrystallizinginthetrigonalsystem.The

mediumtodarkorangeredtopurplishredvarietyiscalledruby,thebluevarietyis

calledsapphire,andallothercolorsaretermedfancysapphiresanddesignatedby

theircolor,forexample,pinksapphireandgreensapphire.Inberyl,anothergem(also

mineral)species,thesaturatedmediumtodarkgreenvarietyiscalledemerald,lightto

mediumblueisaquamarine,pinkismorganite,andyellowisgoldenberyl.With

respecttocolordistribution,chalcedony(afine-grainedvarietyofquartz)with

straightblackandwhitebandingiscalledonyx,whereasitiscalledagateifthe

bandingiscurvedorangular.Asfortransparency,atranslucentreddishchalcedonyis

calledcarnelian;anotherfine-grainedvarietyofquartzthatisredandnearlyopaqueis

calledjasper.Finally,somegemmaterialsexhibitunusualopticaleffectscalled

phenomena.Onesuchphenomenonisthestar-effect,orasterism.Starstonesexhibit

interestingbandsoflightintheircurvedsurfaces.Ifasapphireexhibitsthiseffect,it

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isthestarsapphirevariety;ifarubyexhibitsthiseffect,thenitiscalledstarruby.The

othergems,suchasrosequartz,almandinegarnet,anddiopside(anearlyblack

variety),frequentlyalsoshowstareffect(asterism),andoccasionallyberylandspinel

exhibitasterism.

Agemologicalgroupisdefinedastwoormorechemicallyrelatedgemmineral

speciesthataresimilarinstructureandproperties.Thegarnetsandfeldsparsaretwo

importantgemgroups.Thegarnetgroupincludesthatthegemmineralspeciesand

varietyarepyrope,almandine,grossularite(hessoniteoressonite),tsavolite,andradite,

demantoid,spessartine,uvarovite,etc.Thefeldspargroupincludesthatthegem

mineralspeciesandvarietyarealbite,labradorite,moonstone,sunstone,amazonite,

oligoclase,orthoclase,etc.

Vocabulary

trigonalsystem三方晶系spessartine铺铝榴石

tsavolite铭锐钙铝榴石almandine铁铝榴石

oligoclase奥长石uvarovite钙铭榴石

morganite钠绿柱石grossularite钙铝榴石（绿榴石）

andradite钙铁榴石albite钠长石

orthoclase正长石hessonite钙铝榴石（黄榴石）

diopside透辉石labradorite拉长石

demantoid翠榴石essonite钙铝榴石（黄榴石）

pyrope镁铝榴石amazonite天河石

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Lesson3GemologyandMineralogy

Gemologyisarelativelynewsciencethatissodeeplyrootedinmineralogyitis

impossibletodrawalinebetweenthem.Thegemologistcanbeconsideredinsome

respectsamineralogistspecializingingemminerals.Inthebroadsensetheseinclude

thenaturalornamentalmaterialsusedforcarvingsanddecorativepurposes.In

addition,today'sgemologistmustdealwithanumberofareasbeyondtheconcernof

themineralogist,includingthegradingandevaluationofgemsandeventheir

marketingandsale.

Mineralogyisnotafundamentalsciencebutasynthesisofchemistry,physics,

andgeology.Asaspecializedmineralogist,thegemologistmustdrawonthese

sciencesforacompleteunderstandingofthesubject.Thephysicsandchemistryof

mineralsareintimatelyrelated,forthecomplexphysicalandchemicalpropertiesthat

characterizeamineraldependonthechemicalcompositionandthearrangementof

theatomsinthecrystalstructure.Fromgeologycomesanunderstandingofthe

physicochemicalconditionsunderwhichmineralsform.Furthennore,onlywiththe

knowledgeofgeologycantherebeanintelligentapproachtoprospectingforgemsor

anappreciationoftheproblemsofextractingthemfromtheenclosingrock.

Althoughsimilarequipmentandsimilarmethodsofstudyareusedbyboth

mineralogistandgemologist,thereisafundamentaldifferenceinapproach.The

mineralogistcanscratch,powder,ordissolveinacidtheobjectsofstudywith

impunity.Thegemologistpresentedwithavaluablefacetedstoneisrestrictedto

nondestructivetestsandmeasurements.Togathersufficientdatatoidentifysucha

gemstone,thegemologisthasdevelopedspecialinstrumentsandtechniques.Inthe

textthesedevicesandmethodsareemphasized.

Vocabulary

mineralogy矿物学grading分等级

specialize专门研究evaluation估价，评价

decorative装饰的marketing营销，市场营销

ii

sale销售equipment设备

fundamental基础的，根本的scratch刻,划

synthesis合成powder磨碎

geology地质学impunity无虑，无患

characterize特征restrict限制，禁止

physicochemical物理化学的nondestructive无损害的

intelligent有理解力的measurement测定，测量

approach门道，手段gather搜集

prospecting寻找，探查sufficient充分的，充足的

appreciation评价，判断device手段

extracting提取，选出emphasize强调

ReadingMaterial3OriginandOccurrenceofGemstones

Althoughgemologyisarelativelynewscience,gemshavebeenknownforalong

time.Eversincethefirstchancediscoveriesbyearlyman,gemshavebeeneagerly

soughtandhighlyvalued.Gemstonesaretraditionallyminerals,thatistheyare

elementsorinorganiccompoundsformedasproductsofnature.Withadvancing

technologyandabetterunderstandingofnature'sgem-formingprocesses,manhas

beenabletomanufacturesubstancesthatareusedasgems,someidentical,ornearly

identical,tomineralsandothershavenonaturalcounteiparts.Therefore,acomplete

discussionoftheoriginofgemmaterialsmustincludethemethodsusedbymanas

wellastheearthprocessesthathavebeenworkingthroughoutgeologictime.This

lessongivesabriefaccountoftheoriginandoccurrenceofgemstonesinnature.

Todiscusstheoriginofgemstonesistodiscusstheoriginofminerals.Many

mineralsoriginateinavarietyofways,anditistheexceptionalmineralforwhicha

singleexplanationcanaccountforalloccurrences.Soitiswithgems.Butinthe

limitedspaceavailable,onlytheprincipalprocessesresponsibleforgemformation

areconsidered.

Onlysixoftheapproximately3000mineralsareuniversallyabundant.These

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majorrock-formingmineralsormineralgroupsthatmakeup95%oftheearth'scrust

arelistedinTable1.Withtheexceptionofquartz,thenamesinthetableareof

mineralgroups,eachofwhichhasseveralmembersthatdifferchemicallyfromeach

other.Butallthesecommonandabundantminerals,andquartzaswell,havevarieties

that,becauseofunusualconditionsofformation,occuringem-qualitymaterial.Even

thesoft,platymineralstalcandmica,whenfinegrainedandcompact,aresometimes

fashionedintoornamentalobjects.

Table1MajorRock-formingMinerals

MineralPercentageofEarth'sCrustPrincipalElements

Feldspar60Na,K,Ca,Al,Si,0

Quartz13Si,0

Pyroxene12Mg,Fe,Ca,Na,Al

Amphibole5Ti,Mn,Si,0

Mica4K,Mg,Fe,Al,Si,0

Olivine1Mg,Fe,Si,0

Thematerialsavailableformineralformationarethe92elementsfoundonearth

ofwhichonly8makeupnearly99%oftherocks.Abouthalfofthegemmineralsare

alsocomposedwhollyofthesesame8elements.Ifweexpandthelisttothe20most

abundantelements,allbut6areincludedthataremajorconstituentsofminerals

normallyproducinggem-qualitymaterials.These20elementsarelistedinTable2in

orderofdecreasingabundanceintheearth'scrust.Alsolistedareafewoftherarer

elementseitherpresentingemmineralsorotherwiseofinteresttothegemologist.

Whenoneoftherarerelementsispresentinmorethantraceamounts,itindicates

thatsomenaturalprocesshasbroughtaboutaconcentration.Suchconcentrationdo

occur,resultinginrareandunusualminerals,andtheirexplanationformsa

fascinatingchapterinthescienceofgeochemistry.Gemvarietiesofsomeofthese

minerals,althoughrare,mayinplacesoccurinappreciableamounts.Thus,in

consideringtheoriginofgemminerals,wemustaccountforboththeunusual

conditionsunderwhichthecommonelementsarebroughttogetherandthesignificant

concentrationsofminorelements.

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Table2AbundanceofEementsinEarth'sCrust

TwentyMostAbundantElementSomeLessAbundantElement

ElementSymbolWt.%ElementSymbolWt.%

Oxygen06.60ChromiumCr0.010

SiliconSi27.72NickelNi0.008

AluminumAl8.13ZincZn0.0065

IronFe5.00CopperCu0.0055

CalciumCa3.63CobaltCo0.0025

SodiumNa2.83LithiumLi0.0020

PotassiumK2.59NitrogenN0.0020

MagnesiumMg2.09LeadPb0.0013

TitaniumTi0.44BoronB0.0010

HydrogenH0.14ThoriumTh0.0007

PhosphorusP0.10CesiumCs0.0003

ManganeseMn0.09BerylliumBe0.00028

FluorineF0.063TinSn0.00020

BariumBa0.040Uraniumu0.00018

StrontiumSr0.03