Why are Certain Gemstones Considered as “Precious”?
The term “precious” is defined by the dictionary as something “having great value”; “semiprecious” refers to something of “lesser” but still significant value. The dramatic rise in the prices of all gemstones beginning in the 1970’s has made the normal use of these terms completely obsolete. However, they remain familiar to many jewelry makers and buyers from around the world, and therefore still retain colloquial use. Traditionally, the term “precious,” as applied to gemstones, has (for centuries) meant four stones: diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire – other gemstones are considered as “semi-precious”, no matter how valuable they actually are. In this day and age, it is not unusual that fine quality semi-precious stones command as high a price, and not uncommonly even higher than the lesser grades of so-called “precious” stones.
