Brilliant-blue sapphires look like bits of sky brought down to Earth — but a new study finds these gemstones are from a different boundary: the one between the planet's crust and magma welling up from ...

Gabriela Farfan, the Smithsonian's curator of gems and minerals, answers the internet's burning questions about gemstones. Are all minerals crystals? How are diamonds cut? How do geodes form? Is the ...

Provided you have ever been amazed by the shine of a diamond, then there must have been a moment when you questioned how it entered your jewelry box instead of remaining under the Earth’s surface.

When Philippe Belley came to the University of British Columbia to study how gemstones form, he didn’t think he would need to learn how to protect himself from polar bears. But when some of those ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. On November 4, 1922, a boy accidentally stumbled on a stone that ...

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs. Pink diamonds are some of the rarest gems you’ll find on the planet. In fact, these ...

Nature has a lot to offer to humans. Most precious jewelry is made from metals and stones buried deep within the Earth’s surface but the discovery of these rare jewels is not just limited to land. The ...

In Virgin Valley, Nevada, it's possible to spend an afternoon digging for rare black fire opals, while visitors to Coalinga, California, can scour the dirt for pieces of the state's official gemstone, ...